Forget Me Not
by Captain Lupin Ferus
Summary: A woman is found on the outskirts of New Bark Town, without memory of who she was or where she'd come from. Thanks to a smug little Totodile, however, she's not going to have an easy time in figuring things out as she journeys through Johto to search for answers.
1. Prologue: Wake Up

**Forget Me Not**

**Prologue:  
Wake Up**

**_Note_: After much talk with a fellow writer, and slight collaboration on ideas-and permissible borrowing of his character for this story-I have taken up a Nuzlocke Challenge, via writing, since it would take me forever to create even one comic page for the comic challenge. :P But, all in all, I blame this friend of mine. ****Well. I can't blame the entire thing on him. But he is an enabler who cranked up the dial to eleven. Then broke it off. So the ideas wouldn't stop. He's terrible like that. I love it. :P**

**_Disclaimer_: I do not own Pokémon in any way, shape, or form. The only "ownership" I can claim are the personalities and my interpretation of how ****Pokémon** look in a more realistic light, but other than that...yeah, I don't own anything on them. XD I do, however, own my original characters and writings, unless otherwise stated. In an exceptional case, a few special OCs belong to their respective owners, I'm merely borrowing them for the story that's to unfold. I'll point them out when their time to show up comes. :3

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

"_My whole world turned upside down. I can adjust."_**  
-Dr. Temperance Brennan, "**_**Bones**_**"**

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

They asked questions…a lot of them. She honestly couldn't remember half of them, and she didn't think she had an answer for even a quarter of them, never mind half.

_Where are you from? _

_How did you get here?_

_Where's your team?_

_What's your name?_

No trainer license, no registration, no team, no nothing, except for whatever she had on her person when they'd found her. She'd looked like a drowned Rattata, they'd said, coughing up half the lake just outside New Bark Town, soaked to the bone, disoriented and dazed without a clue as to where she was. She didn't even have half a clue as to who she was.

Blood-soaked clothes, a sodden hat, combat boots, heavy coat, no memory…

A mystery. Or so they called her. She didn't think so.

Or so she wanted to believe that.

There was no full-scale Pokemon Center in New Bark Town to recover at, none that could support everything she needed, so the closest facility with help needing fulfilling was the Pokemon Lab. It was there she'd been taken. It only seemed fitting, considering it had been Professor Elm who'd found her in the middle of his field research. The authorities came with a physician, questioned, poked, prodded, gave up, left. The report would be filed, but for the time being, nothing could be done, they'd said.

Well, it seemed like they were giving up. At least they didn't take her with, dangling in cuffs and dipped in confusion. That left her feeling uncomfortable, bone-soaked, and alone with the older, bespectacled man. After a bit of awkward shuffling about, she was in borrowed but dried clothes, and a small office space-turned-makeshift-bedroom in the lab, left to sort through her belongings, which the police hadn't done.

Something told her that that alone was odd. She didn't know why. But it did.

The form fitting brown coat she had was laden with pockets. In the pockets, she found objects of interest. The obvious thing that she thought the police should have done—and was glad they didn't after doing it herself—was several questionable items that made her question who she was.

The largest object in question was a leather-bound and worn journal—slipped in a plastic bag for protection, had she been expecting a dip in the lake?—with confusing entries and even more confusing hand drawn sketches. Did she do them? Then she found a wallet, something the police had asked about, although she feigned she didn't have one. Her gut told her to evade the question. She wasn't sure why, but she trusted it, even if she didn't understand. Inside it was sparse. Some cash, a few pictures, similarly protected as the journal, these with lamination, although only one featured her, the rest were faces she didn't recognize. Did she steal it? There was an ID in it, although the face in the picture—her face, she was sure of it—was younger, not scarred, more sure of who she was.

Another questionable object was case-bound, electronic, flat-screened. Communication device, she concluded. Cellular phone of some sort. But it was dead, damaged by the dip in the lake. Useless. Keys, perhaps to a house, a car, an office, maybe? No key chains, nothing personal. No leads.

Everything seemed normal up until the knives. One was made of bone, no…a fang. A giant fang, serrated near the leather hilt, the natural edge forged in metal. It stung the moment she tried to run her finger over, and she ended up flinging the thing away from her, sucking at her offended digit with wide eyes. Then she noticed that faint whiff of something…burning. It took her only a moment to realize it wasn't her finger, no, but the metal on the fang-blade itself. Silver, her mind had provided, along with instinct to shy away, especially after taking a peek at the second knife. All metal, leather handled, forged from steel, with a caricature carved in the blade of a wolf-creature under the full moon, but the edge, it was the same as the fang-blade: silver.

Maybe she was more a mystery than she would have liked.

Weapons, a dead phone, pictures with faces she didn't recognize, a strange book. And the two necklaces around her neck.

A personal charm that held no familiarity to her, other than a faint resemblance to the tattoo on her left arm. And the second, a pair of dog tags, both bearing a name she also didn't recognize, but was willing enough to snap up for the time being until she knew who she was: Lupin Ferus, born 8 April 1985. And a captain, apparently. But captain of what, she had to wonder.

It wasn't much, but it was something. That was certainly better than nothing.

**OoOoOoOoOoO**


	2. Chapter One: Tiptoe

**Chapter One:  
Tiptoe**

**_Disclaimer:_ I do not own Pokémon in any way, shape, or form. The only "ownership" I can claim are the personalities and my interpretation of how Pokémon look in a more realistic light, but other than that...yeah, I don't own anything on them. XD I do, however, own my original characters and writings, unless otherwise stated. In an exceptional case, a few special OCs belong to their respective owners, I'm merely borrowing them for the story that's to unfold. I'll point them out when their time to show up comes. :3  
**

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

_From your slanted view see the morning dew__  
__Sink into the soil, watch the water boil__  
__They won't see me run, who can blame them?__  
__They never look to see me fly, so I never have to lie_  
**-"Tiptoe" by Imagine Dragons**

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

_Let's start off slow. What do I know? _

She stared at the items on the table, all on line, neat and orderly. She furrowed her brow, gaze lingering on the dog tags.

…_well, I have no idea who I am, because I'm either paranoid and thought havin' personal stuff on me was a risk, or…_

Lupin sighed.

_Or I have no clue. _

She picked up the dog tags and looped the chain back over her head, nestling the metal bits alongside the pentagram charm. Then she picked up the journal next, brow furrowing even more as she guided her hands over the cover, the well-worn spine and the backing, along the pages that were uneven and lipped. They roved over cracks and creases, imperfections that made her wonder if it had been her hands that had created this book, or if it had been somebody else's hands.

Pages rustled and she breathed deep the scent of the book, the weathered pages, the graphite and charcoal and ink that stained them, the newspaper clippings and printed articles pasted and stapled and taped to the insides, adding volume and quality to it. She read through the first entries, and the confusion increased. Words popped up that didn't ring any bells.

Wendigo. Skinwalker. Shapeshifter. Banshee. Kelpie. Vampire. Werewolf.

Words that seemed so foreign, and yet she felt, once more trusting her gut, that they should mean something. But she stared blankly at them, for hours, and found…nothing. No bells rung, no fanfare sounded off, no moment of eureka to be had.

The professor left her be for those first few days, coming to a conclusion that letting her sort herself out would probably be more beneficial that fussing or worrying over her. He did, after all, have work to do. For that much, she was grateful to be left to her own devices, which honestly weren't much, since she holed herself away in the small office space he'd allowed her to take over.

But, that quiet peace soon came to an end, when a knock came at the door during one of her searching periods, breaking through the bubble she'd been so encased in for the past several hours. Hurriedly, Lupin yanked the hat sitting on the back of the chair she was sitting on over her head and threw on her coat. At the last second, she paused long enough to sweep up the knives into the depths of the coat's pockets before calling, "Come in!"

The door creaked open and the bespectacled man poked his head in, offering her a smile and a tentative nod her way. His eyes drifted to the items on the desk, before settling back on her face.

"At it again, I see," he commented and she nodded, politely so. He drummed his fingers on the door before clearing his throat. "Well, I came by to let you know that lunch is ready. Phillip's really outdone himself by making a very nice stew." He grinned a little wider. "I swear, if I didn't have him around, I'd probably be back where I was when I _didn't_ have an assistant—working for days on end without stop before collapsing. I'd wake up to the Pokemon I was observing licking my face or sleeping on my back."

He chuckled, albeit nervously, when she stared, barely a crack of a smile pulling at her own lips. He quickly petered out before clearing his throat.

"Why don't you come out and eat with us? We'll be having it outside today. It's very beautiful out. You've been cooped up for days."

"Says the workaholic researcher," Lupin replied dryly, raising a brow at the man. He grinned sheepishly.

"Guilty as charged, and a point to irony, I'll admit. I still stand by my offer. It might do you some good to get out and stretch a little. I know that this room can't be all that comfortable."

Lupin stared, brow furrowing, lips pursing, and she looked back at the table. Finally she sighed, nodded and gathered everything back up and stuffing them one-by-one into her pockets. Pulling herself to her feet, she nodded to the professor and followed him out into a short hallway that quickly extended into a large and open workspace, a vaulted ceiling, a secondary level with an observation deck, a few other doors leading to smaller work rooms. The walls were lined with quietly humming machines and devices that seemed like dormant creatures, waiting for interaction to begin anew for whatever purposes they'd been created for.

They paused at one of the doorways. The door here was automatic and after a quick code was punched into a keypad beside the door, it opened with a soft, pneumatic hiss. Professor Elm motioned for her to follow inside as he stepped through the doorway. Her immediate impression was a playroom or a nursery: the walls were painted a soft, pleasing yellow. The floor had clean carpet lining it and Lupin was almost hesitant to cross from the hard linoleum to the plush material in her scuffed boots. The carpet was littered with toys of varying sizes, shapes, materials. Several were little dolls and one of them was an object of interest between three creatures occupying the floor space in the middle of the room.

She stared, slightly boggled at the creatures. One looked vaguely familiar, although something felt off about its blue scales and red plates lining the backside. It was vaguely reptilian in nature, almost crocodilian even, with the hard long snout, crooked smile, and unblinking yellow eyes as it whipped a rather prehensile tail about behind it. The other two were a little stranger for her to adapt to.

The first was light green, a quadruped, with slightly leathery skin almost in the semblance of a plant, and a large, leaf-like protrusion was sprouting from the top of its head. It was snapping at the doll with a beak-like mouth, clacking it sharply together playfully as it nipped after the toy. She wasn't sure what to make of it, it was the strangest looking one of the three.

The last was a small, furry creature, almost roly-poly in shape, with a long thin snout, short and stubby legs and tiny, warm eyes that were nearly closed, almost like a mole's. The fur was dark in colour, almost black in some lights, with a darkish green tinge in others. Four spots of reddish-tinged fur in perfect circles lined its backside, while pale, short fur lined its belly. Fine, prickly protrusions stuck out its backside, but occasionally, she'd see the flicker of sparks spit up from them, almost as though they would combust given the right amount of friction.

As soon as she and the professor stepped into the room, the play between the three almost ceased completely. Bright eyes turned on him in an instant, before the toy was dropped and forgotten as they toddled closer toward the man bearing the crisp white lab coat with squeals and squeaks of joy.

"Professor!"

"It's the Professor!"

Lupin twitched at the voices, surprised.

_Did they just…?_

The voices, three and distinct, rose to a clamor, overlapping one another to be heard as they crowded the professor. He knelt and they scrambled at the further purchase now available, trying to clamber into his lap. It was a rather quirky sight and it prompted a faint smile from Lupin, despite her awkwardness in being a quiet bystander.

"These are the pokémon that are a part of my research. I focus mainly on the evolutionary stages between the juvenile, adolescent, and mature stages of pokémon evolutions. Why do some take so long to evolve? Why do some take a shorter amount of time? It's all so very interesting. In comparison, say, a Charmander to a Cyndaquil, a Charmander takes longer to grow into its adolescence of a Charmeleon than a Cyndaquil does to Quilava. But, they both evolve around the same rate and level of experience to reach their final stages of maturity as Charizard and Typhlosion, respectively."

Here he motioned to the little roly-poly, mole-creature with dark fur and odd markings. The little creature with its sparking backside glanced at her at last, as though suddenly aware of the audience and snuffled in her direction before sneezing. The other two paused in their pawing at the professor to look at her as well. The green, leafy creature shuddered. The blue crocodilian regarded her with half-lidded, lazy eyes and looked rather unimpressed.

"She smells funny."

The previous shock from moments before plummeted at the comment and she gave the now-named Cyndaquil a dull glare.

"Your backside is a fireworks factory hazard. I wouldn't be talking," she muttered back with as dry a tone as she could muster.

"I'm sorry, did you say something?" Professor Elm interrupted, looking back at her from over his shoulder. She frowned, glancing at the Cyndaquil, hesitating. She motioned vaguely to them.

"You didn't…hear…?"

"Hear what? I thought I heard you say something, but I couldn't hear over these little guys' squeals. They've got all sorts of energy building up, I swear, they never seem to stop!"

_And I think I've entered the early stages of craziness while suffering amnesia. Better stay hushed for now, or I might actually end up in a looney bin this time around,_ she instantly concluded with a faint smile.

"Nothing. I didn't say anything. Uh. You said something about lunch?"

"Right. Yes, of course. I just wanted to come grab these guys, it's time for their midday meal, as well as their exercise time. We like to let them come out and enjoy some playtime out back. Chikorita here for example needs some ample sun time, being a grass-type, as does Totodile, being cold-blooded."

He straightened as he motioned to the green, leafy creature and then the blue scaled crocodilian. All three began to trail after him toward the doorway and she followed, mindful to not step on any of them. As she followed after them all, she only half-listened to the professor as he continued to prattle on about the other pokémon he's studied and the interest in how some evolve and others simply don't. Her focus was tuned more to the wary looks cast her way by the three pokémon she was tailing, as well as the hushed whispers between them.

Whispers, she observed, that were apparently about her and how she didn't quite smell human.

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

She stared at the woman in the reflection in the mirror, her brow furrowing. The reflection twin did the same, a look of intense concentration crossing her features. Lupin's gaze roamed over the eyes first, as they always did: the left was a clear and hot gold, the right was a stormy blue-gray. Her hair was long, dark brown, wavy. The tips, however, were a deep and dark red, almost like blood, which was already chilling enough, but it seemed like a natural colour, no dye job required or needed. She peeled back her lips, just enough to show the pointed tips of her canines: too long and sharp to be considered normal for a human. Her nails were the same, growing in thick, pointed tips if she didn't clip them after a few days. Across the bridge of her nose, and trailing an almost-L shape across her right cheek, was a thin scar, as though made by a blade.

In fact, a good portion of her body was covered in scars, most made, she assumed, by some giant beast that had sunk its fangs and talons into her body for hunting practice. Her back, belly, both shoulders, left forearm, left thigh and right ankle—they all looked like they'd been broken, ravaged or crushed by a large animal. The only other scars that seemed to be made of something else were burns or cuts. Worry gnawed at her gut, making her continue to wonder just what the hell kind of life she'd led, to earn such grievous looking scars across her body. And how could she have _survived_? She wasn't exactly thick or bulky enough to spare room for such brutal attacks.

Her focus, however, finally diverted away from the scars, and settled on the two protrusions sticking out of her head, and her backside. Furry ears, the same mixture of dark brown and deep red, twitched atop her head. The base of where they started on the side of her skull lined up where a regular human ear would start, curved upwards until it formed the outline and base of the ear. They were rather canine in nature, thick and pointed, not small and near-triangular shaped like a cat's would be.

And then there was the tail. Where the tailbone in a human should have ended, hers continued into a soft, but thick and bushy tail. Same as her hair, it was dark brown, tipped in a deep reddish colour. It swayed and twitched and cricked and puffed and she could move it at will, same as the ears. But, half the time, when she wasn't thinking on either of them, they would move accordingly to her mood, making them appear almost vocal in some instances.

…if she allowed anyone else to see, that is. Gut instinct told her to keep things hidden for the time being. Why else had she been wearing the hat and the long coat, if not to hide her unusual features? It was no wonder that the pokémon in Professor Elm's charge were all skittish and wary around her. Well, except for the one or two oddities that didn't seem to give a damn, but still. The majority of them took care to avoid her.

It didn't help that she could smell in the inhumanness of herself as well.

In fact, she could smell quite a lot, and not just herself. The scent of the forest surrounding New Bark Town was brought in from all directions on the breeze. Something new was always on it, and when it came back again, she could recognize it. Flowers, dirt, trees, animals, water; everything. She could tell if there was a river two hundred feet or two miles away from just one whiff on the wind. She could tell if a flock of birds was nearby and she was downwind or if there was a storm coming in from the distance. She could smell the myriad of people living in town, when the wind shifted just right, and pick out the young, elderly, healthy, and sick with a single whiff. It felt new and exciting, yet familiar and old all at once. Natural, even.

_So it's safe to assume I was like this beforehand,_ she reasoned, pushing back on the sink away from her reflection. Her ears gave a twitch and the mirrored doppelganger did the same in reverse. She turned toward the walk-in shower and twisted the knob, allowing the water to start up and get hot. _But this doesn't account for what I am. Just that I'm not…human. Am I one of the monsters in that journal I have?_

She'd read every description inside that thing, from front to back, cover to cover. She knew nearly every line, drawing, sketch, and scribble by heart. The closest assumption she could assume, if she had been the one to write it, was she was one of those…werewolf creatures.

_Super strength, speed, stamina, endurance, senses, healing…just about everything superior to a human. _

The thought made her frown as she stuck her hand into the steady stream of hot water. Tossing the towel around her onto the sink counter, she stepped under it, her muscles already relaxing into mindless putty.

The thought of not being human didn't chill her to the bones, not really. It just confirmed what she already knew. It felt like a fact, and at this point, it certainly qualified as one. The only thing that chilled her at this point, was she couldn't remember everything else_. I have puzzle pieces with no pictures on them. I have them, they're there…they're just blank. Like my brain._

She sighed. _One step at a time._

Maybe she needed more than hours on end staring at objects from her pockets. She'd been entertaining the idea of asking the professor if she could find some work to do around the lab, perhaps acquaint herself more with the pokémon in it. Get them used to her, so that they didn't quiver and whisper and scowl as she passed them by. It was beginning to grate her nerves more than hurt her feelings at this point. And maybe doing something familiar would jog some of her memories.

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

The next few days were rather…colourful. And eventful. Her memory didn't magically come back. The fears of the pokémon the professor cared for didn't dissipate. But, she did conclude, that there was some progress. There was less tension in the air as the days passed, but it was slow. The pokémon were getting used to seeing her, at the very least. She helped with the meal preparations, and in retrieving them for exercise outside in the afternoon, and then rounding them up in the evening twilight for dinner, the day's last few tests, and then bed.

By week's end, the routine seemed to help in easing the jitteriness and worry, giving her something useful to do. The only break in pattern was when the police returned. They came back to follow up on her, and had brought the physician they had with them the night she'd been found back as well. She was checked out again, asked what she assumed were routine medical questions, although she refused to take her coat or hat off in their presence.

"It…I don't feel comfortable taking it off, it feels…normal," had been her hesitant response when asked why. There were looks exchanged—sympathy, she noted, and it made her stomach churn at the sight—but she wasn't pressed to remove either. But the card was played right; it made them feel like she was recovering, even though that wasn't the case. Far from it.

"Do you remember your name?"

"I found some dog tags around my neck. After you guys left, I mean."

"Can I see them?"

Reluctantly, Lupin removed them, offering them to the awaiting hand of the physician while the police hovered nearby, scribbling in their notepads. Dogs sat at the heels of the officers, coloured a dark, rusty orange with pale, creamy bellies and dark jagged stripes, eyeing her with bright blue eyes. They occasionally wagged their bushy tails when she met their gazes, but otherwise, acted like silent sentinels. The professor and his assistant occasionally popped in to quietly check their progress, but they didn't interfere with what was going on.

The physician looked over the imprinted information, coffee-brown eyes moving back and forth before she smiled at Lupin, and handed them to the officer beside her. He took it, and began recording the information on his pad.

"It seems you were in the military, although I don't recognize the format for these ID tags. Perhaps you came from…Kalos? Or maybe Sinnoh. There's also the Hoenn and Unova regions. I doubt Kanto, we're next door neighbors after all and New Bark Town gets a lot of traffic for trainers moving to and from, although we won't rule any one place out. We can start using the information on your tags, and perhaps get some answers from that. It's possibly you have someone who cares for you put in a missing person's report, if you've been gone for a long time without communicating with them. Perhaps even the military is looking for you."

That didn't sound good. Was she a deserter? She hoped not. Then she remembered the pictures in her wallet, of all those smiling faces, and how none of them seemed familiar to her. Could one of them be missing her? Maybe if she found one of them, they could help her recover what she's lost. Maybe she could remember if she saw them in person, heard their voice…

The physician took advantage of her quiet pause to pull out a white and red ball from the depths of her bag. Lupin eyed it warily before it split open, seemingly of its own accord. A red light burst forth, taking shape beside the physician until a solid form stood beside the seated woman. Lupin's first impression was tall, graceful, and willowy.

Then details began to sink in. The pokémon before her was definitely slim in form, draped in a white, gown-like lower body, the upper body just as willowy and thin and cut out with a minty-green pattern. A single, cherry-red eye stared down at her, the other hidden by long, curling green hair over its face. The pokémon regarded with a cool and quiet gaze, arms hanging gracefully at its side before moving to clasp in front of it as it turned to glance at the physician, awaiting orders.

"This is my Gardevoir, Laila. She usually helps me with some patients who suffer from head trauma. It sometimes helps with those who can't be given usual medical procedures, for whatever reason. In your case, I think this would count." She paused to push back the glasses on the bridge of her nose back up. "I'd take you to the hospital and go through the usual round of testing, but without a medical history, I don't want to risk you having an allergic reaction to something we'd need to inject you with to get our results. For now, this will have to suffice."

The Gardevoir bowed her head in response to the introduction. Lupin returned the gesture.

"So, what exactly does she do?"

"She examines your head for any outside trauma we may not be able to detect and goes from there. I think after a week, however, you'd show signs of any problems and you seem rather healthy, just like you did the night you were found. A little shaken up, but nothing physically wrong with you, it seemed. No nausea, dizziness, blackouts, headaches of any sort, right?"

"Yeah. That's right." Lupin nodded again. She glanced at the officers. They were no longer writing in their notebooks, and the one who still had her dog tags leaned forward long enough to hand them back. Lupin slipped the chain over her head again.

"All right, then. After that, we can look deeper; maybe see what's causing you to not remember. It's not a surefire way to get anything out of that head of yours, but it might help loosen things up. Although, we'll first need your written consent and I have the paperwork with me. I don't want to do anything you don't feel comfortable with. This is, after all, a psychic pokémon we're dealing with. They have to get inside your head to help you, and some people aren't comfortable with somebody in their head like that."

Lupin eyed the Gardevoir warily now, brows creasing slightly in worry. She weighed her options and found she didn't have very many. Slowly, she inclined her head into another nod.

"I won't get answers by sitting on my hands," she admitted. The physician smiled again, nodded in return, and dipped back into the bag she'd brought with her. She produced a clipboard with rustling pages attached to it, but she paused to look at the officers behind her.

"Could you give us some space, please? I'd rather her feel somewhat comfortable without you two looming behind me."

"Of course, Ms. Joan. Just give us a holler if you need us back."

With a whistle to their pokémon, the two turned heel and out of the makeshift office-space-turned-bedroom. Then Lupin was left alone with the physician and her Gardevoir. Lupin took the paperwork from the woman, reading through the policies, conditions, and explanations regarding the procedure beforehand. She paused midway, reading over a passage several times.

"Different types of amnesia…" She lifted her gaze back up from the printed words, fingers rubbing at the pages, twitching to do more than shuffle them about but she wasn't sure what. The pen in her other hand tapped against her leg. "What kinds are there?"

"Several, actually. And they can stem from psychological to physical. Some forms of amnesia can serve as a defense mechanism to deal with a trauma someone has sustained, whether it was the one or the other, or even both. Some have short-term, meaning it's only temporary, and others are long-term, which…could be permanent. But those are just a few. The human brain is a very complex organ and unique to every individual. Your case could very well clear itself up over time. You should always hope for the best."

The woman sounded sympathetic and motherly in a way. It hit her hard, out of nowhere, the wandering thought of what her mother must look like. _Does she miss me? Does she know I'm missing? Is she…is she still alive? _

She had to repress the sudden, vile feeling of nausea that rippled through her core. The Gardevoir beside the physician shifted, training her eye on her and she gave a soft noise of disapproval, moving closer. She raised a hand and placed it on her brow, making a soft humming noise in the back of her throat.

"Mmm. That won't do. Trying to force it won't make it come any quicker," she said quietly, softly with all the concern and warmth she could muster. Which was to say, quite surprisingly, a lot. Lupin felt a warmth spread through her, a relaxation easing the tension in her limbs, and she remembered what Ms. Joan had called Gardevoir: a psychic-type pokémon.

"Laila, not yet, please. She needs to finish signing if she wants to do this."

The Gardevoir nodded and removed her hand. Lupin held that red stare for a few moments longer before dropping her gaze back down to the paperwork. She finished skimming, scribbling her name in looping, jerky letters and passed the forms and clipboard back to the other woman. Then, only then, did she finally nod to the Gardevoir, who moved forward once more. Soft, warm hands brushed her brow again, moving back red-tipped hair from her gaze and settling against her flesh.

Hope was all she had at this point.

**OoOoOoOoOoO**


	3. Chapter Two: Lost Touch

**Chapter Two:  
Lost Touch**

******_Disclaimer:_ I do not own Pokémon in any way, shape, or form. The only "ownership" I can claim are the personalities and my interpretation of how Pokémon look in a more realistic light, but other than that...yeah, I don't own anything on them. XD I do, however, own my original characters and writings, unless otherwise stated. In an exceptional case, a few special OCs belong to their respective owners, I'm merely borrowing them for the story that's to unfold. I'll point them out when their time to show up comes. :3**

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

_You don't say much  
You don't say any more than you have to  
Have you lost touch  
With the ones you adore and sought after, yeah  
And you don't know why  
_**-"**_**Some Kind of Home**_**" by Thriving Ivory**

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

It was nearly dusk by the time everything was completed. Disappointment lingered like a bad taste in her mouth. It was enough to make her need to get out of the pokémon lab, the first time since she'd first set eyes on the place. It was heavy and oppressing, a prison she needed to escape, even if only for a short while. She didn't have anywhere else to go, even in spite of the offer from Ms. Joan to place her in a more comfortable, semi-permanent halfway house until she could either be identified or helped back onto her feet.

The offer had been tempting, but at the same time…

Well…suffice to say, it was declined, regardless of the good intentions. After the police had left with polite nods, terse instructions and a genuine goodwill with the physician, the air seemed to grow tight and heavy as the minutes ticked by. She managed to wheedle an excuse to finally wander New Bark Town, although it wasn't to completely and pointlessly shuffle about streets. She was, after all, giving her services to the professor in exchange for room and board.

The closest he had to a task in town for her was shopping to restock the lab's supplies. That seemed easy enough.

Lupin spent most of her time outside getting the lay of the land. The town, in spite of its small size, was a central hub for traveling trainers making their way to and from Kanto. There was a small pokémon clinic with the simplest of necessities. There was a pokémon department store next door with all the needed accessories and supplies a trainer would need or want in order to continue to the next town over. Several other businesses catered to other pokémon services, such as grooming or treats, although Lupin was looking for more human-based services at this point.

Or, well…human-ish services, in her case.

She found the food mart after passing the clinic a second time, satisfied that she could pinpoint where to go if she needed something other than food.

_But why would I need to know where everything is? I don't plan on going anywhere else._

The thought suddenly struck her odd almost as soon as it came to her. She paused mid-step, staring blankly at the aisle wall, hand dropping to her side.

_Why would I stay here? _

The juxtaposition of the situation felt like she had abruptly hit a brick wall at full speed running. Why would she stay? Why should she go? If someone is looking for her, wouldn't it benefit staying? But what if they weren't? What if someone knew her but didn't know she was missing? Finding them while figuring out who she was should be priority, shouldn't it?

Now she was wishing she had shown the pictures in her wallet to the police. Perhaps they could have done a multiple search: for her identity, and perhaps the identity of the others. More questions, even fewer answers. She sighed heavily, plucking the box of noodles off the shelf before her and tossed it into the basket. She lingered in the store, slowly going through the list before making it to the checkout counter. She glanced at the list the professor had given her, tucked it in her pocket and plucked an additional task list that Phillip had passed along to her from her pocket.

She read through the list, which was rather short, sweet, and to the point. Turning on her heel, she double-backed to the pokémon supply mart. _Should've done this before hitting the food mart_, she thought, although as she slipped in through the door when she arrived, realized it wasn't as bad as it had been earlier. Although, to be fair, it'd look even less crowded if pokémon didn't litter the aisles alongside their trainers.

She gave pause a three-headed, dusty-brown bird poking its head over one of the aisles. It watched her and two other people in different places with beady eyes. Lupin mock sneered at the head facing her and it puffed its feathers up, clacking its beak indignantly with a squawk. She snickered and headed for the counter, where one of the workers ushered her forward when his customer finished up.

She handed the list over, mentioning she was coming from Professor Elm's lab. Immediately, recognition lit up his face and he waved a hand to her.

"Of course, it's that time again. Every two weeks, Professor Elm has us order items in bulk for his research pokémon. Are you a new intern?"

"Intern? Oh. Oh, um…I guess you could call me that. I kinda just…showed up one day."

It was somewhat true, to a point. He leaned forward on the counter, smiling at her.

"You passing through town and looking for work? Is that all it is?"

"Not really. I just…needed a place to stay, so I'm doing some chores around the lab and getting some knowledge about the…here. Johto. I'm working it out with the professor right now. Um…about that order. Do I need to pay now or…?"

He sighed, pushing away from the counter, running his hand through his thick hair. "Payments are made upon delivery, which will be in a few days." He paused, lips quirking again. "I'm guessing if I was straightforward and honest about asking you out, you'd say no, wouldn't you?"

Lupin had to focus on keeping her ears from rustling beneath her hat. They were tempted to pin against her head, possibly skew her hat's position over her head. She cleared her throat and shook her head instead. "Sorry, I'm not really—no. No, I'm not. Interested, that is."

Another smile, this one accompanied by a good-natured shrug and a wink. "Can't say I didn't try. Say hi to Professor Elm and Phillip for me. We'll have your goods delivered in a few days for those hungry pokémon."

She took her leave after that, toting with her all the groceries she'd bought. They seemed to weigh nothing at all, although her thoughts were another story altogether. The trip into town had done some good in distracting her, but now she had no town to occupy her attention. Her idle mind kept retreating back to the empty results that had taken place after the physician and her Gardevoir had tried pushing past the mental block in her head. No matter the pushing, prodding, or coaxing inducted by the Gardevoir yielded any positive results. It was a solid blackness, Laila had finally determined, one that she couldn't intrude on or it might risk harming Lupin further.

"It's up to you to either overcome it or…adapt around it. It will depend on how deep the trauma you suffered has gone. There isn't much else I can do except offer my condolences and to wish you good luck in that endeavor." Laila had remarked with a bowed head and closed eye. She sounded so sincere and genuine, but it didn't make Lupin feel any better.

It had left the physician disappointed and remorseful with the lack of results. It left Lupin feeling hollow, lost and full of resentment toward whatever forces in the world had decided to do this to her.

A sudden squeal of pain and something lumpy writhing under her boot alerted her back to her surroundings. A sharp pain in her ankle triggered a knee jerk reaction to kick out at whatever had sunk into her flesh. The pain was sharp but brief and she stumbled backwards with a yelp that quickly grew into a snarl. She felt her tail puffing up beneath her coat, and her ears flared against her skull, shifting her hat crookedly. She searched the ground with a venomous glare, ready to sic her contempt on whatever had decided to attack her.

An insult and a curse had lined itself up against the backs of her teeth, loud and abrasive and aimed to hurt as much as her foot was ready to crush down on the offender. But, everything was swallowed back down and lodged itself in her throat, choking her for a split second.

"What—what?! _You_—! You're supposed to be up at the lab!"

Curled up on the side of the road and eyeing her with cold, yellow eyes was the professor's Totodile. His back was slightly arched, making the crimson back plates flare and seem like they were spiking higher than normal, the tips of his front paws balancing his upper body to a near-upright position. His nostrils flared and the blue of his scales glinted in the dying sunlight, giving it a rather startling and dramatic effect. They weren't incredibly shiny, but neither were they a dull matte colour.

"And _you_ were supposed to be outside with us this afternoon. It's rude to establish a routine and then up and leave like that. Oh, what do you have? Can I see, let me see. I've been waiting out here for over an hour, I'm starved! I missed dinner."

Then with a single push, the Totodile was up on his thick hind legs, shuffling forward with surprising agility toward the bags dangling in Lupin's hands. He sniffled loudly and nearly snapped one apart with his crooked, sharp teeth if she hadn't lifted them out of his reach at the last second. His forearms wriggled in front of him, pawing at the empty air and up towards the bags.

"What in the hell were you waiting for me for? What if a car ran you over, or somebody decided to-to—"

"To what? Battle me? I can take anyone on and anything they throw at me," he snorted indignantly and clacking his jaws together. She glowered, not entirely believing she was having this conversation. _I'm insane. I hit my head and I've gone insane. I inhaled too much water, killed my brain, now I'm hearing voices that aren't possibly real coming out of the mouths of these—these things! _

He was clawing at her pant leg now, trying to clamber up her to reach the bags and on top of that, was making squeaking whines. "C'mon, gimme! I'm hungry!"

She sighed, half in aggravation, half in defeat. "We'll be back at the lab in ten minutes if we start walking now. Come on."

"I'm too hungry to move. I might starve before then. Carry me!" He gave her that crooked crocodile grin, eyelids lowering to give her a leering expression, rolling onto his side.

She scowled again. "You lazy reptile. I don't have time for this. My hands are full."

"Please?"

"You should've thought about that before you wandered out here." She paused, raising a brow at the blue-scaled reptile. "And I thought you could handle anything."

"Hunger is my one weakness. The cons of being cold blooded. Slow metabolism." He snorted sharply, rolling back onto all fours. "Please carry me? It's getting cold. I don't move as well in the cold."

She watched him with narrowed eyes, shifting her weight from one leg to the other. "Manners. That's a start." She sighed and kneeled, lowering her shoulder closer toward him. "Climb on. I really don't want to put all this down. And no, you can't have anything until we get to the lab. I'll make you something before bed."

"Fair enough, I suppose. Maybe I'll put in a good word to the professor for you when we get back to the lab." He remarked with another pointed sniff as he shuffled forward and hauled himself onto her shoulders. She winced at his sharp claws, but straightened up without a word of complaint and lurched forward back down the way she had been going.

"He doesn't seem to understand you."

"Not in words, no." He replied against her cheek. She tilted her head just enough to find one large yellow eye staring back at her. "But _you_ do. Not many people can understand pokémon like you do. Some can, or so I've heard, but you're the first I've come across who can. It's uncommon."

The Totodile paused long enough to let out a sharp breath through his nostrils. "But you're not like most people. You don't smell human."

She didn't say anything and put her gaze back on the road. A soft rattling sound sounded off on her shoulder. _Is he…laughing?_

"I'm not going to tell. Although the other two are scared of you." She felt a hard mouth poke at her neck. "You don't smell like any pokémon I've encountered before. What are you exactly? And why're you posing as a human?"

"I'm…not a pokémon," she replied vaguely. "But I'm not…human either. It's…complicated."

"Did you forget what you were?" He sounded rather curious and a bit…sympathetic. It surprised her and some of her mild resentment to his earlier behavior melted away.

"Kind of."

"Well, you _did_ inhale a lot water from the lake. I was the one who pulled you out. I didn't even need any help."

She could practically feel him swelling with pride on her shoulder. He'd puffed himself up by balancing against her shoulder on his front legs. His back legs clung to the back of her shirt while his tail—which was surprisingly prehensile and she didn't think it possible in a reptile—curled across her shoulders for counterbalance. He must've looked all sorts of proud, she mused, and it did bring a faint grin to her lips. Arrogant and cheeky little guy. He was young, though. Childish, in some ways. But the professor did say that a Totodile was the juvenile stage for a Feraligatr, whatever that was.

"I didn't smell any blood. You didn't hit your head, I don't think. So why did you forget? There was a human doctor there earlier today, right? She was helping you."

"It's…she said it's complicated. I could have amnesia from…any number of things. Psychological shock or physical trauma. I could remember everything soon or…remember nothing, ever again. I'd never know who I am again. Not…not unless I meet someone who knew me and can help."

"So why don't you?"

"It's complicated," she replied.

"What's so _complicated_ about finding someone you know? Can't you smell your nest-mates? Just go sniff them out and have them help you."

"It doesn't work like that—this world is…it's pretty big. And I…wouldn't know where to start. Or who to look for. I just…have faces in pictures. No names. No addresses."

"Sounds like a personal problem."

She stopped in her tracks and snarled. She wished she could drop the burdens in her hands to pluck the little pokémon off her shoulder and make him walk the rest of the way. "Okay, look you scaly little brat. Here's the thing: I'm not staying at the lab, I _do_ intend to go on my merry way and you'll never have to see me again. So until then, I want you to zip it and leave me be to figure things out. Starting now."

Her outburst, while she would admit she could have handled it better, seemed to have the desired effect. For a few minutes, up until the pokémon lab was in sight, the Totodile was silent, save for his raspy breathing. When they reached the door and she opened them to enter, only then did he speak. "I was only asking because I'm intrigued by you not being pokémon or human. I wasn't impressed. Don't mix the two up."

Tension coiled in his little body a split second before he leapt from her shoulder and landed inside the doorway with all the grace of a cat. Once more, she was dumbstruck, the immediate impression of 'should be impossible' stamping itself at the forefront of her thoughts. The water pokémon glanced back at her with those bright yellow eyes and snorted.

"If you're looking to leave soon, let me know. I might just go with you, since the other two are too scared to come near you except around mealtime. But I'm only offering because I know the professor would worry, since you don't seem to have any pokémon of your own. Could be dangerous out there without any. Human or not."

His rattling laughter echoed into the confines of the lab as he waddled inside, leaving Lupin with the groceries still in hand.

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

"He did _what_?"

Phillip Armstrong stared at her, rather incredulous as he peeled away some of the groceries from her hands to place on the counter. His mouth was gaping as he whipped his head to look over his shoulder, as though expecting to see the offender of his searching gaze.

"Yeah, I guess Totodile decided to try and follow me, maybe? I found him less than a mile down the road, though. He seemed rather…miffed."

He raised a dark eyebrow at her, lips pursing as he turned back toward the groceries.

"That's unusual. None of the pokémon have ever done that before. In fact, they've all been acting a little strange lately, ever since you arrived."

"I'm an anomaly in their routine. I'm also a new face. They're probably still getting used to me," she responded automatically, thinking back on Totodile's words. _They're afraid of me, that's why. I don't smell right to them. _

"Maybe. It takes some pokémon longer than others to adjust to new faces. Although Totodile seems to be taking a liking to you." He smiled, as though that was the greatest thing in the world to notice. Lupin avoided his gaze, busying herself with stocking the fridge with the colder items.

"I don't think he's taking much of a shine to me. He bit my ankle the minute he saw me before squealing at me like he was cursin' me out."

The smile dropped and a dumbstruck expression painted his face now.

"…huh."

"Yeah. Might wanna rethink your statement," she remarked back, stuffing in a gallon of milk into the fridge before tossing the white plastic bag onto the counter. She turned back to the counter to pull out the various meat packages to stuff into the freezer. She omitted the part where she did step on him, but even if she hadn't, she doubted the blue-scaled reptile would have been any less rude.

"Well, regardless, I'll have to let the professor know. He was very worried when he couldn't find Totodile after they were let out this afternoon. I'm glad he's all right, though."

She hummed back, a noncommittal response. It wasn't that she didn't agree. She was still stinging from his sharp little words, and it made her skin crawl with how uncomfortable she felt in it. She wasn't a whole person, not with how empty her head was.

_Stupid reptile. Just ignore him, he's a rude little fucker_, she finally settled for with a scowl as she finished with one of the last bags. Listening to whatever he had to say wasn't going to fix her situation. That much was for sure.

**OoOoOoOoOoO**


	4. Chapter Three: Direction

**Chapter Three:  
Direction**

******_Disclaimer_: I do not own Pokémon in any way, shape, or form. The only "ownership" I can claim are the personalities and my interpretation of how ****Pokémon** look in a more realistic light, but other than that...yeah, I don't own anything on them. XD I do, however, own my original characters and writings, unless otherwise stated. In an exceptional case, a few special OCs belong to their respective owners, I'm merely borrowing them for the story that's to unfold. I'll point them out when their time to show up comes. :3

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

_Where is the end, is the edge of understanding?  
I might think it's overrated or can't take the mind expanding  
Give me a pint, a little push in one direction  
I might need a little help with my own interconnection_  
**-"**_**What's in the Middle**_**" by The Bird and the Bee**

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

"How can you stand wearing that coat? It's so hot out!"

Lupin peeped her eyes open at the voice, seeing Phillip approaching to her left. She cleared her throat, sitting up a little more in her seat, adjusting the coat to cover her tail a little more. She'd had too many close calls and had resorted to wearing it all the time now. It didn't help that the damned thing was kind of big, either.

"I don't really feel the heat getting to me. Feels nice out," she replied back. She shifted her gaze out to the open field around them. Behind the lab, there were fences and corrals to keep the pokémon from wandering or running off by accident, but plenty of wide open spaces, courses, and even trees to romp about in. Several trainers who had gotten starters from Professor Elm tended to send their pokémon to the lab when they weren't boxed, mostly for his study. It helped the pokémon, their trainers, and the professor and his assistant in their research. Or that's what Lupin's been told. It seemed like a rather beneficial circle.

She took a mental account of all the pokémon that had been sent outside for the day—including the professor's study pokémon—and noted they were all there, just like they were there fifteen minutes ago, and fifteen minutes before that.

The watch had been tightened since Totodile's impromptu escape from a few days ago, and today Lupin was keeping an eye on things. She kept an especially watchful eye on the blue-scaled pokémon. Occasionally, she'd catch him watching her just as sharply. She sometimes wanted to smack that little crooked grin off his smug snout—if she could, that is.

Her hands twitched and fiddled with a book in her lap, the pages rustling. For once, she had decided not to drag her journal—who else could it be but hers?—out for the day, and instead forced herself to choose something else. It was one of many books that was lying around the lab, and she hadn't really read the cover when she grabbed it. Nor had she really been reading, but she figured getting her mind off things should be priority. At least, that's what she was _trying_ to do, anyway.

"So, everything going good out here, nothing unusual, I hope?"

"No, not really. Some wild bird pokémon flitting around, but they aren't attacking or anything. Which is good, I guess?"

"As long as they're not Spearow. Pidgey we don't have to worry too much about. They occasionally come by and play with the others, but Spearow are a little more aggressive. I'd be more worried from an attack by them."

Lupin thought for a moment, mind working on registering the names and faces together: Spearow, a mean-looking little bird with rusty red, brown and black feathers and Pidgey, a little cream-and-brown feathered bird with a gentler nature. She had noticed flocks of the former, although none ever came too close to the lab. They tended to stay closer toward the forest not far from New Bark Town, although some individuals roamed about here and there. Pidgey, on the other hand, were opportunistic little buggers, and were _everywhere_.

Her fingers continued to rub along a page she had pinched between them. It gathered the taller man's attention and he glanced down, grinning. "Reading something new, I see. What is it? '_Battle Tactics for the Beginning Trainer_'…" He paused, rubbing his chin. "That reminds me…the police called the other day."

Lupin stiffened, tilting her head to look up at him. She waited for him to continue. Her patience paid off.

"The information they said they'd gotten from your dog tags…they don't match the format of any known military unit in any region. Looks like you're just wearing personalized tags. And…unfortunately, it looks like no one's put in any missing persons report out for you. I'm sorry, I meant to tell you the other day, but the professor and I got engrossed in our work."

She felt her stomach slithering lower into her abdomen in disappointment. That sour taste in the back of her mouth returned, the same from the day she had had no luck with Ms. Joan and her Gardevoir. Phillip sighed, reaching up to run a hand through his dark hair, a frown pulling his lips down as he regarded her apologetically. Lupin didn't meet his gaze and instead, dropped it to the words scattered across the book she had been trying in vain to read.

"It doesn't look like you're even a registered trainer. No name, no facial recognition, nothing's popping up. So you don't have a license to be a trainer, and you're most likely not an intern or assistant in a lab, either. It…I'm sorry to say, it looks like you're back at square one."

Well, that made her feel even more miserable and she started to shut the book, ready to ask if he could stay and watch the pokémon for the rest of the afternoon. She wanted to be alone, or to wander somewhere, to do anything, to busy herself with anything other than thinking on this news.

"I know I keep saying it, but I _am_ sorry, for bringing you such bad news, but…I do have some good news."

That gave her pause and she dared to lift her gaze back up again to meet his. There was a small smile decorating his lips, one that promised a tiny ray of hope.

"Despite all that's come to light…the professor has put in to register you as a junior assistant associated with the lab. It just entails to helping out around the lab, working with the pokémon, and occasionally doing errands or using the pokémon for research. It's temporary, of course, until you find out who you are, I mean."

Well, that _was_ a spot of good news, even if she didn't quite get it. _You have to have a license to handle pokémon…? _

"Of course, you can only handle the pokémon if it's for the lab. If you want a trainer's license, you'd need to go to Violet City, where the schoolhouse is. Every course is about three weeks long, and they're always going on. Most people go through when they're children, that way they're registered beforehand and don't have to be delayed in getting their pokémon for their journeys, whatever they may be," Phillip continued, as though taking cue from her quietness. He hesitated, however, and added, "But…you know this already, don't you?"

Lupin shook her head, feeling a little miffed that she didn't. Should she have known all this? She wasn't sure, she couldn't recall. It didn't sound familiar at all.

"Oh, wow. You really _are_ empty of everything. I mean…I didn't mean it like _that_, just…general knowledge of things, is all I meant." He rubbed at the back of his head, sighing. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude and make it sound like you're stupid. I can tell you're intelligent. You get the gist of things rather quickly, but you just seem…so lost on a lot. Like pokémon, in general."

"Maybe a visit to that schoolhouse would be favorable for me in the future, then." She said with a sigh, glancing up at the romping pokémon, taking a mental account of everyone, then nodded, satisfied that they were all there.

"Maybe. You wouldn't be able to battle any gym leaders in the future if you did choose to leave."

"Gym leaders?"

For some reason, her mind conjured up the image of a body builder hefting weights at the words 'gym leader'.

"Elite trainers who own battle arenas that tailor to a specific pokémon type, such as fire or water or grass. There are eighteen pokémon types, and not all of them are singularly devoted to just one element. Some are duel-types, such as dark and fire, ice and psychic, or grass and poison. So on and so forth. Just recently, the fairy type was discovered, helping even out the list from seventeen to eighteen. A few pokémon have been identified under this category, and I'm sure there are plenty more out there. Whitney, the gym leader over in Goldenrod City, was rather ecstatic, although she's kept her original title as a gym leader of normal types. Shame, really, she could have become the first fairy-type gym leader known worldwide."

Phillip chuckled, although Lupin's rather neutral expression remained largely the same. She looked back down to the book in her lap, before noticing a pair of eyes watching her from the ground beside her feet. She jumped in surprise, the pages in her book fluttering as she was met with the crooked little grin of Totodile. He pushed himself to his hind legs, cocking his head at her, yellow eyes gleaming in the sunlight.

"You—go away. Go play. Shoo." She scowled when he didn't move. Phillip laughed beside her.

"Hey, there, Totodile. Sneaky thing, aren't you? Don't get used to it. One day you'll evolve into a Feraligatr. Won't be so easy to sneak around being a giant blue lizard. Well, except for maybe in lakes and rivers, that is. As long as they're not too murky or muddy. Blue doesn't work too well against brown."

"Crocodilian," Totodile corrected, although Phillip didn't seem to hear or understand. Lupin resisted the urge to pin her ears against her head. It would only skew her hat and she was surprised she hadn't done so sooner with Phillip. Totodile shuffled closer, sticking his snout up against her hand, the book, snuffling pointedly. "What're you reading? Show me."

"You rude thing, back off." She scowled again, pulling her book out of his reach. He gave a reptilian glower aimed at her and snapped his jaws in displeasure. She narrowed her mismatched eyes at him, not daring to flinch under that gaze.

"Easy, there, Totodile, you've got sharp teeth. You don't want to bite her by accident. C'mere, you rascal," Phillip said, circling around the chair Lupin was seated at to pick up the pokémon. Totodile let out a long-suffering sigh as Phillip lifted him up. "You don't mind him sitting with you, do you? He seems to be the only one not overly skittish when it comes to you lately."

Lupin was tempted to say no, but swallowed it back down in a hurry and instead shook her head. He'd never leave her alone if she simply tried avoiding him. She lifted her book out of the way and the reptile was lowered onto her lap. He immediately curled up, settling comfortably and she lowered back down the book and flipped the cover for him to see.

"'_Battle Tactics for the Beginning Trainer_'. Do you plan on battling other trainers someday?" He tilted his head to glance at her, a sly look in those yellow eyes. She caught a glimpse of red in there too, a bright crimson colour. His sclera was what was yellow, then. Not his iris. She had mistakenly thought it all yellow with a black iris. It was a startling contrast.

She kept quiet at his inquiry, however, flipping the cover back down and to the page she had been previously trying to finish. He seemed to get the message, almost as soon as the silence continued to drag on without answer. He snorted, as though annoyed, but said nothing further. Phillip didn't stay much longer and soon left with a quiet goodbye, and a reminder that it was almost time to start corralling the other pokémon back inside. She gave a noncommittal response in return, knowing she had roughly over an hour left of daylight.

"You didn't answer my question," he finally stated after Phillip was gone. "Do you plan on battling someday?"

He was watching her, no longer pretending to be interested in the book in her hands. She sighed.

"I plan on traveling around, yes. I doubt I'm going to get very much headway staying here at the lab, however nice the perks have been. Shelter, food, a job. If someone I know is elsewhere and they don't know what's happened, I'll need to leave and find them."

"Do you plan on travelling alone, then? It seems like that's the way you were when we found you. You had no pokémon on you and even if you did…it'd be illegally so." He made that soft rattling laughter in the back of his throat. "I overheard that there's been no leads with the police. You're a female with no name, no face, no license. You'd need to get that license to travel more fully than on an assistant lab tech's permit."

"Quit trying to invite yourself. I'm not taking you. Or any of the others. If I was traveling alone without any Pokémon, I must have had a good reason."

_If I'm not human, than that alone must've been good reason. Alone, I can probably take care of myself._

Her thoughts were punctured through like a hot knife through butter by the rattling laughter and shaking body in her lap. "Do you expect me to believe you'll fight off wild Pokémon on your own? With what, your bare hands? You don't smell human, but you certainly look it. A flock of Spearow would eat you alive if they had a mind and taste for it. You're tiny for a person, but poison type pokémon are tinier. A Spinarak or Weedle would stab you in the foot and you'd never know it until you collapsed from its poison, too far from medical centers to get help."

He regarded her with those glimmering, sunlit-struck eyes and the crimson set in gold seemed to burn brighter now. That crooked jaw seemed to grow even more crooked, white teeth sticking out sharply and she knew if she touched them, they'd break skin, calloused or not.

"You'll need someone who isn't afraid of you. You look human, but you don't smell it and most pokémon will be able to tell right on the spot after a good whiff of your scent. A trainer's pokémon might be polite about it and pretend everything is all right, for the most part. But a wild one will attack because you're a threat. You'll need a mediator between them and you. You _need_ me."

His words rang and echoed in her ears and skull, rattling about until their comprehension smacked her hard like a sucker punch to the gut. Her brows drew up into a scowl, teeth clenching into a tight grimace as she peeled her lips back and she knew—she knew—he saw the flash of her fangs. Fangs too big for a small mouth like hers, too big for a human but she saw nothing in those cold eyes, no flicker of fear or anxiety to account for. Just curiosity.

"I do not need _you_. I do not need _them_," she stabbed at the field where the pokémon romped and played for emphasis, her words coming in short hisses. She stood suddenly, book in hand, Totodile tumbling to the ground and landing on his side. He made an offended croaking noise, tail whipping like an agitated cat's would. She picked up the folded lawn chair she'd brought out, snapping it shut and tucking it under her other arm. "When I go, it will be alone. If I was alone when you found me, it was for a reason. I might not remember, but it must've been a damned good one, especially if it spared me the rudeness of little brats like you for traveling company."

She felt those reptilian eyes on her backside as she started for the lab, the grass plush and soft under her boots, but she barely noticed how well-kept and manicured the lawn was. She could only feel the heat of embarrassment rising up in her at having allowed the sneaky little Totodile get under her skin. But she kept telling herself what she'd told him as well: _I was alone for a reason. _

The only thing she couldn't figure out, the frustrating thing she couldn't remember was why had she been alone in the first place?

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

True to Phillip's word, Professor Elm had indeed registered Lupin for an assistant lab researcher's permit. It came three days after he'd told her. It allowed her to officially represent Professor Elm's lab, his research, and more importantly, handle his pokémon. Of course, others were allowed the same rights, but they were all registered as trainers. Children who were on the cusp of gaining their licenses via the schoolhouse in Violet City would either gain pokémon from their parents or, alternatively, gain a starter from Professor Elm.

"Not every trainer starts out with a Bulbasaur, Squirtle, or Charmander in Kanto. And the same can be said of beginning trainers in Johto. They don't all start with a Chikorita, Totodile or Cyndaquil. Some start with a Meowth or Growlithe, or Eevee, Marill, Caterpie, Pidgey or Sentret, so on and so forth. Some inherit pokémon from their parents. Other times, parents get a friendly pokémon specifically tailored to small children, to indoctrinate them at an early age before giving them full responsibility of that pokémon. Other times, they're sent here to pick out a starter."

Lupin was only half-listening as she distributed food into bowls for the nightly feeding, although she nodded as the Professor continued.

"And not every trainer is out to challenge the League over at Indigo Plateau. Not every trainer is interested in collecting gym badges. Some are more interested in day care programs for pokémon, breeding them, or raising them specifically for certain lifestyles, like gardening, livestock and dairy, or even for research purposes." He laughed and she glanced over her shoulder to see his pointed, yet kindly stare. She turned back to finishing up filling the bowls before stowing the food away in the cabinet with a faint nod.

"Does everyone who travels have to have pokémon?" She queried.

He frowned at her, hesitating before answering as he joined in picking up bowls to help with the feeding. "Not necessarily. But why would someone travel without pokémon?"

"Personal choice?"

"It'd be very dangerous, but…I don't think it's completely farfetched. Pokémon and humans have lived side by side for thousands of years. The relationship between the two has become a symbiotic one; we aren't completely and utterly dependent on them or them on us. I'm sure we could do well on our own without them, and vice versa. But it would make it incredibly difficult without the helpfulness that they provide in our daily lives," he finally admitted.

There was a pause in the conversation as they dropped off the first bowls for the group of pokémon: first the Professor's lab pokémon, who shied away from Lupin, except Totodile. He shuffled forward on his hind legs, regarded her with those yellow and crimson eyes, gave off his rattling laugh and dipped his snout into the bowl without a word. The others only approached after she stepped away, albeit warily and watching her with sharp, mistrusting eyes. She turned back to the workbenches, where the rest of the bowls were.

"Come to think of it, _you_ were alone when I found you. No pokéballs, no pokémon, nothing whatsoever. Just the clothes on your back and what you had in your pockets. It's all very strange." Professor Elm frowned deeply, brow furrowing as he pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. He turned heel to follow the woman back to the workbench.

"Maybe it was for a reason?" _I was alone, alone for a reason, but for _what_ reason, and why?_

"Perhaps…but maybe something had happened to your pokémon. Something happened to you, that's for sure, and I don't think it's just the amnesia. There're no records of you anywhere, or so I'm being told. Maybe somebody deleted your records, or they're withholding them."

_That_ was certainly conspiracy theory-worthy. It did make her pause in picking up the next set of bowls, but it was brief and barely noticeable.

"Or maybe I fell out of the sky," she joked. A beat passed and the professor laughed.

"Of course. Perhaps you were riding on the back of an ancient and rare pokémon that had plucked you up from some unknown land and dropped you here and stole away your memories," he retaliated teasingly in kind. It helped ease the tension somewhat, dissipating the myriad of bad theories and thoughts that were beginning to form.

They finished feeding the pokémon and afterwards, corralled them back into their respective quarters to sleep the night away. When the last of them was safely put away, Lupin made for her makeshift room, bidding the professor goodnight.

Behind the relative safety of a closed door, she peeled away the leather coat she'd been wearing for a majority of the day. It was soft and supple, but durable enough to withstand wear and tear. It looked like it had endured plenty of it over what she could only assume several years' worth. Her tail cricked and swayed, the muscles in her back feeling stiff from forcing it to remain still for a majority of the day. She knew the coat wasn't completely foolproof, of course. The tail could be spotted from between her legs from the front, but for all people could know, the coat could be furry on the inside. Or something. Nobody's made mention of it yet.

Maybe they even thought it was some sort of tail-hitched-to-back-of-pants fetish. Whatever worked, she was fine with it. She wasn't going to be particularly picky at this point. She removed her hat next, and her ears stretched and swiveled, pinning to the side of her head, just as stiff from their confinement. Then she started on her daily ritual before bed, grabbing a pair of loose cotton pants and a loose t-shirt, then ducking into the connected bathroom to shower and brush her teeth. It was late when she finally stepped back into the makeshift bedroom. There was a pullout couch in the room, although from the scent of it, it wasn't used very often. Not this one, anyway. There was a more often used one in the professor's office, and another in Phillip's. This was probably used for guests, and the last one…

Well, it's been a long while since guests had stayed, that was for sure.

Slipping under the thick comforter, she curled up, bunching a bundle to wedge between her legs as she rolled onto her side. She sighed, eyes darting around the room as they adjusted abnormally quickly to the darkness of the room. She could make out the edges of the walls, light switch by the door, the desk and its various booklets and paperwork piled on top. If she wanted, she could probably read every word in this darkness without repercussions to her eyesight.

She remembered it being written in the journal that werewolves had perfect night vision. It almost seemed like something out of a fable or a story, and not real life. And yet here was the living evidence: fangs, claws, ears, tail. Great ears, eyesight, nose…

And then there was that whole deal with the full moon.

She hadn't thought of that, and suddenly a panic hit her and she sat up, stumbling out of bed and toward the window and throwing the blinds up. They rattled and beat against one another, one side skewing as she yanked the cord, the other dipping dangerously low. She pressed her forehead against the cool glass, eyes searching for the moon. Already, the stars were glittering coldly in the dark sky, but she could see no moon. It was bright out, though. That meant it was close. It had to be. But she needed to know how close.

She unlocked the window and threw it up before ducking through it. The grass was cool under her bare feet, and the air had a pleasant chill to it, although she paid neither much mind to either. She turned around to face back toward the lab, searching the sky above it and finally spotted the silvery-white disc, bloated and nearly full. Her heart skipped. _Just a few more days. Just a few days and I…_

She shuddered, swallowing thickly. She still found it hard to believe she'd turn into some flesh-eating monster.

_Maybe it's an exaggeration. Maybe it's a metaphor for something else, maybe…_

The sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach told her otherwise.

**OoOoOoOoOoO**


	5. Chapter Four: News

**Chapter Four:  
News**

_**Disclaimer**_**: I do not own Pokémon in any way, shape, or form. The only "ownership" I can claim are the personalities and my interpretation of how****Pokémon****look in a more realistic light, but other than that...yeah, I don't own anything on them. XD I do, however, own my original characters and writings, unless otherwise stated. In an exceptional case, a few special OCs belong to their respective owners, I'm merely borrowing them for the story that's to unfold. I'll point them out when their time to show up comes. :3**

**_Note:_**** Thank you the Anon who reviewed! I'm glad you're liking the story so far!:D I also wish to thank _Doomedsoul74_. I hope that more people get a look at this as well, although there's no guarantee, sadly enough. But, in the meantime, hopefully, I'll continue to live up to expectations of others like you who drop on by and read!**

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

"_So, do you want the good news first or the bad news?"  
"Is the order at all relevant?"  
"You know, people like to get the bad news first so the conversation ends in happiness."  
_**-Booth and Dr. Brennan, "**_**Bones**_**"**

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

She woke with a start, her heart thundering away in her chest and a cold sweat drenching her. Her limbs were shaking as she sat up while trying to steady her erratic, panicky breaths. It took a minute or two to focus as she stared around the darkened room. A hand flew to grip the side of her head, to run through her sweat-covered hair. Already, whatever it was that had awoken her was gone. It was the same as every night. She knew she had nightmares, of something dark and unnatural and terrifying; she felt that panic and fear every time she woke up, but upon waking…nothing. No trace of what it was, no memory stuck. Nothing was remembered, except that lingering terror that made her gut clench and twist in the pit of her abdomen, and the continuous feeling of unrest.

Swinging her legs over the pullout couch, she tottered toward the bathroom, not bothering to turn on the lights and started up the shower. She stripped clumsily, her hands shaking like leaves in the wind. Finally, she pulled herself into the steady stream of water, tense muscles slowly easing and relaxing as the heat applied itself. She checked her waterproof watch on her wrist and grimaced. Four-thirty in the morning…no way she was getting back to sleep now. She quickly washed up, wondering why she had even bothered with nightly showers when she did the same in the morning after her night terrors woke her. Soon, she felt the shakes and uneasy feeling leave her, and she felt somewhat normal by the time she finished in the shower.

By five, she was dressed and clean, and went to the little kitchenette to eat something, anything, to ease her still roiling stomach. She found some bagels and a tub of cream cheese as a result of her searching. She eased into the makeshift breakfast, not really feeling the urge to cook. By five-thirty, she finished and brewed some coffee and filled a mug for herself. Then she turned to the morning ritual of preparing the pokémon's food bowls.

When six came rolling on by, she was finished filling the bowls and a third of the way with distributing the food to the wary creatures. Phillip made his way into the lab not long after, stretching and rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Morning," he greeted with a yawn.

"There's a fresh pot of coffee waiting," she replied, giving a curt nod in return toward the kitchen. His face lit up and he made a beeline for the room with a hurried 'oh thank Arceus'. Her ears gave the faintest twitch under her hat at that, and a question bubbled up at the name '_Arceus'_, although she squirreled it away for later conversation. Another pokémon name, she was sure, but she didn't recognize it. Then again, there were many she didn't recognize. She refocused on the task of doling out the morning food to the pokémon. Professor Elm came hurrying into the lab just as she finished the last of the feedings and was gathering up a few empty bowls.

He was in a hurry, she noted off the bat, anxious and excited and agitated in his movements. Lupin paused to watch his excitement with curiosity plainly painting her face, although the professor didn't seem to notice. Phillip came out of the kitchen bearing two mugs while sipping from one. He came to stand beside Lupin, who was drinking from her own mug that she had brought out with her.

"Is…he okay?"

"He gets like this sometimes. Especially close to presentations."

"Presentations?" She queried back, looking puzzled. Phillip made a soft noise at the back of his throat.

"Ohhh, that's right. You don't know—sorry," he said before clearing his throat. "Professor Elm travels all over to present his research findings every couple of months to different regions, alongside other head researchers and professors. Seminars and conferences, mostly. There's going to be one in Kanto in about a week, so he's been preparing everything since the last one, including new discoveries to his studies. He'll be leaving for Goldenrod tomorrow morning. He'll only be gone for a week, mind you, it's a small conference, so you don't have to worry too much."

"And you?"

"Oh, I sometimes go, when it's necessary. But that usually means finding somebody else to look after the lab and the pokémon, so I don't usually go. Most labs can afford two assistances, but Professor Elm has only had me for the last few years. Hasn't really petitioned to get another assistant. Well, up until you came along of course." He grinned, took another drink and added, "But I'm staying this trip, so you don't have to worry about being here alone. You don't know how to run all the machinery and equipment here in the lab, and I have to be here to monitor them. For example, we have several medical panels that take several days to run for results, and somebody needs to be here when they finish up. We're running several as of right now, otherwise I would have gone if nothing of high importance was pending results."

He shrugged, as though that was the best explanation he could offer. Lupin quirked her lips, but didn't press for further details. So the professor was leaving. That crossed off one less thing to worry about. She still felt a kind of skittishness about Phillip remaining around, however, if…well…

Her thoughts came to a halt when the professor came hurrying over, as though suddenly attuned to Lupin and Phillip's existence in the lab. The first thing Phillip did was offer the mug of coffee, and the professor nabbed it without a word and took a long draft. He drained nearly half of it before sighing in relief.

"Oh, thank you. I needed that. Now. On to business. Phillip, I'll be taking a few of the pokémon with me," he nodded to the taller man. Phillip twitched, suddenly alert to the notion.

"Not the starters, I hope?"

"No, no. I know it's nearing that season again, although this year seems to be very slim pickings. Not many trainers leaving for their journey and needing our starters, I'm afraid. The pokémon might be waiting a little longer than usual, but I'll leave them here, just in case we get an unexpected caller."

Then the professor looked to Lupin. "As for you…I actually have a request for you, if you're up to it, that is."

This piqued Lupin's interest, as well as Phillip's. Catching the other man's inquiring gaze, Professor Elm smiled. "It's Mr. Pokémon again. He's found another intriguing item."

Lupin, understandably, didn't quite comprehend, although from the resigned sigh from Phillip, he did.

"Another 'rare' oddity, I presume?"

"Actually, yes. It's a pokémon egg this time, though," the professor nodded, then glanced back at Lupin and her disquieted gaze and explained, "Mr. Pokémon is merely a nickname our associate's gained over the last several years. His real name's Graham Wardson, but everyone calls him by Mr. Pokémon because, well…he has his eccentricities."

He motioned for the two to follow him to an open workstation across the way from the nursery where the starter pokémon were ambling about in. The other pokémon were in their rooms as well, until afternoon playtime. The only one out and about was Phillip's Meowth, who was rarely seen, except around mealtimes. She didn't care much for playing, so it seemed to Lupin.

Professor Elm booted up the computer and after a few minutes of awkwardly waiting for the system to warm up, he pulled up his email inbox. The most recent email was selected and a quick selection of the attached files showed pictures of an egg, just as he'd said. Lupin stared and Phillip made a surprised noise.

"Is that a _Togepi_ egg? How in the hell did he get his hands on _that_? They're incredibly rare, especially the eggs!"

"That's what I need found out. I need you here at the lab while I'm gone, Phillip, so perhaps if Lupin is up for the task, she could travel to Mr. Pokémon's home and retrieve it."

"That's nearly a week's travel there and another back again, Professor Elm," Phillip said with a hint of reservation in his tone. Lupin ignored it, intent on the photograph on the screen. She leaned forward a little more, to study it. The photograph was a little grainy on the details, but it was clear enough to be identified as an egg, and it was a strange looking one at that. It was largish, a clean and pristine white, with intermittent triangular designs in bright blue and red spotting the eggshell.

"What's a Togepi?" She raised her voice above the two's fervent whispering. The back and forth stopped behind her and she straightened, looking between the two men. Professor Elm cleared his throat.

"Togepi are incredibly rare pokémon. Researchers are rarely afforded the chance to study one up close. We have no clue where they breed or live, only that on very rare occasions, an egg appears, usually among breeders or daycare centers. And this is an equally rare chance to study one. Not many trainers have them to begin with, and are rather protective of them."

Lupin nodded a bit, understanding. Rare pokémon. Got it. She could tell by the tone of his voice and the sudden waft of hormones that he was simple awash in giddiness at the prospect of seeing one. Excited for science, apparently.

She motioned toward the computer screen. "And you wanted me to just…go to this guy's house and pick up the egg?"

"Well…that's the thing. It's almost a week there, and then almost a week back. He lives a ways away. Not—not like in Olivine or Cianwood, no. It's past the next town, Cherrygrove City, but well before Violet City or the Dark Cave. There's a road you can follow pretty much all the way there, so it'd be hard to get lost." He smiled, as though that did sound easy enough. Lupin frowned, a little unnerved, although she tried to keep it off her face. She drummed her fingers against the desk as she leaned on it. Phillip took her extended silence as way of an answer and turned to the professor.

"If you can wait until you get back from your conference, I can go. You shouldn't be sending her out, she—"

"Hey. I'm right here," she interrupted, shooting the other man a peeved look. She hated it when either of them did that. Treating her like she was delicate or wasn't in the same room as them when they talked about her. Phillip closed his mouth with an audible clack of his teeth, looking appropriately abashed at being chastised by the small woman. She sighed, lips pursed. She wanted to know what was going to happen a few nights from now, and she couldn't do that here, not with the professor or Phillip around. If she changed…if there was a risk of being seen…

She finally gave a jerking nod.

"I'll go. I've been feeling cooped up lately. I think maybe…getting out would be good for me, ya know?"

A pensive, thoughtful look crossed Professor Elm's visage for a moment, while Phillip looked uncertainly onward at the young woman. She shot him another warning look. She was an amnesiac, not an invalid. She nearly opened her mouth to say as such, to remind him that she wasn't a helpless child, but the professor cut in quickly before the words could form on her tongue.

"Great! Now, I know I have an extra satchel around here somewhere, you could borrow that—and I can have any supplies you'll need for the trip charged to the lab, just go out in town and get it, you'll be all right. As for a pokémon, I suppose I could lend you one of the starters. Let them get a chance to see a little more of the world—"

Lupin cut him off abruptly with a wave of her hands.

"Whoa, whoa. Hold it. I don't need a pokémon. I can get along fine without one."

The chipper and beaming expression the professor had been exuding crumpled in on itself, replaced by perplexity and worry.

"You found me alone. It probably was for a reason."

"Your team could've been separated from you…" The argument was already down before it could achieve lift. Phillip fell silent at another steely gaze sent his way.

"No records of me. Remember? No team, no identity. And not everyone travels with pokémon. You told me that, professor. I can manage."

"But do you even know how to survive in the wild if you got lost?"

"Boil water, don't burn green stuff, don't eat weird plants, use the sun as a pinpoint for location. Using a map helps too." It was all off the top of her head, but she felt a familiarity with the prospect of camping in the woods. Besides, she had more power to her senses, more range and strength to rely on. She doubted she could get lost _that_ easily.

"I'm an amnesiac, not an invalid," she finally stated, the words suddenly booming back to the forefront of her mind. "I can handle myself. You said it yourself, there's a road that I can follow. I doubt wild pokémon jump on the main path looking for a fight."

"You'd be surprised," Phillip muttered, although from the look on his face, he could already see nothing he had to say would affect her decision. The professor reflected this, but he looked…worried. More so than she would have liked.

"If you think you can handle it…I mean, you _did_ come tumbling out of the mountains, and if you're right about it, you came out alone. And that's pretty rough territory. I don't understand why you'd want to do it by yourself, but you must have had your reasons, and…you must've been good enough to avoid being attacked by wild pokémon in that mountain range without pokémon of your own. They're very powerful, so it is rather impressive…"

_It probably helps not being a human,_ Lupin thought impassively, only giving him a quiet nod. But it did add another question to the growing list: why would she be roaming the mountains alone? Another question she had no answers to. She sighed, downing the last of her coffee, then started for the kitchen.

"I'll go to the store now, if that's all right. I'd like to make use of all the daylight I have and get some headway."

"Of course. I'll have to find that satchel, but it'll be waiting for you when you get back."

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

It was midmorning by the time Lupin returned, laden with supplies she had charged to the lab's tab—although she kept things on the simple side and didn't go for the most expensive items. If she left the lab for a more permanent extended period of time, she could upgrade later on. Phillip was attending to the pokémon while the professor was compiling all his research for travel when she got back. She eyed the various creatures that skittered about the main floor of the lab, but some stopped to stare beadily at her. She froze at their stares, a brief falter in her steps, before skirting around them. She felt their eyes on her as she moved to a more secluded section of the lab, placing her gear on an empty work table.

Phillip paused in his activities, giving her a faint nod, then motioned to the professor's office.

"He's found the satchel. Pretty sturdy looking thing. Might want to start packing if you want to get out of here by noon." He hesitated, then added, "You don't have to go."

"I want to go. I'll be fine."

From the tension in his frame, the knitting of his brow, and the way he pursed his lips, she could tell he didn't quite believe that. On a certain level, she could understand. She wasn't exactly the average person. She didn't know who she was, or where she'd come from, and it might have affected her judgment to a point. What she might have been confident and well learned in, she might not have that in her current state.

But to have doubt lingering in the air was like allowing poison to remain. It left a bad taste in the back of her mouth. She felt a small amount of guilt for worrying the two, but at the same time, she didn't want to be babied and fussed over. She wasn't a child, far from it. From the dog tags and her birth date coinciding with the current one, she was in her early thirties. She could hardly call herself defenseless. Maybe she was a little clueless on some of the inner workings with the world at the moment, to be honest, but not completely and utterly incompetent. She could figure things out.

She offered a meek smile, trying to look reassuring and she waved a hand at him, as though to dispel those doubts and worries. Phillip paused as he stooped toward the ground, Chikorita tumbling toward him, although the little creature kept a leery eye on Lupin."If I run into trouble, I'm sure I can smoke signal you guys. Trust me. I think a few days out and about would benefit me more than staying cooped up or wandering around town. Besides…that guy at the Pokémart keeps hitting on me. I dunno if he's joking or being serious anymore."

Recognition lit up in Phillip's eyes as he straightened, cradling the little Chikorita in his arms. She nuzzled against him, somewhat content. "What, Gabe? He's harmless. He does the same to me when I make pickups or orders."

"Oh. I…was honestly not expecting that." She blinked, a little taken aback, but she calmed. Okay, she could roll with that. Phillip laughed, patted Chikorita gently on the head and set her back down to let her go traipsing off after Cyndaquil and Totodile. A Granbull, Pidgeotto, and Sentret trio watched from nearby, calm and relaxed. Phillip's Meowth, Jewel, soon joined the three, quiet and slinky, eyes half-closed in a lazy manner.

"Yeah, Gabe's quite a character, but he's pretty harmless. He flirts with any new face that comes his way, but he generally doesn't make any real moves on anyone who doesn't reciprocate. Says it 'goes against his code' or something of the sort. You're not the first, you won't be the last," Phillip explained, coming over to eye the parcels that Lupin had slowly been unpacking as they spoke.

He sifted through one or two items, but largely remained quiet about her choices. He did pause at a book she had picked up while at the store, and a thin, wry smile lifted his lips up.

"You say you don't have any interests in taking any pokémon with you, but you snagged a book about them."

"I'd rather have an idea of what's out there. Better to know what you're facing than running around blindly. I'm not completely inept." She responded, turning to start toward the professor's office. She could hear him rummaging about, making a commotion, and she hoped the satchel didn't get reburied. "I'll finish packing and clean up a little in the room I was using before going."

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

She left a little later then she would have liked, but it didn't deter her from putting as much distance between her and New Bark Town. It was bright and balmy, the temperature comfortable, as it had been for the last few weeks. She'd bought a map to study the routes to find Mr. Pokémon's home, and Professor Elm had been right: the trails were pretty straightforward. It would be difficult to lose her way between here and there. She practically didn't need a map.

Hefting the pack more securely onto her shoulders, she kept a steady pace down the road. In New Bark Town, it was small but modernized in the barest of senses. The townspeople didn't want to dull the sense of traditional travel with too many cars or other motorized vehicles. People walked nearly everywhere, with few exceptions. Pokémon seemed to be the favored source of transportation if speed was needed, such as those that can utilize Teleport or Fly, or Surf for those encountering bodies of water too big to cross without aide. And then there were those pokémon large enough that humans could ride upon their backside, which helped ease some traveling burdens….

Or at least, that's what Lupin had read in one of the books she had found lying around the lab.

Her shoulders only ached in the slightest when she finally stopped to pitch for camp later that evening. Digging up a fire pit, collecting firewood, and unpacking a few pieces of her gear took less than an hour. From the smell of things, there was another camp not too far from her, perhaps a mile up the road, the fire already crackling away. Faintly, she could hear voices, just barely, woven together with the settling daytime noises and the awakening nocturnal sounds.

_Other trainers,_ her mind automatically supplied before belated, she added, _but I'm not a trainer, just a traveler._

She got her own campfire going, and stalled in setting up the rest of her gear to enjoy the smoky scent for a few minutes. With a sigh, she finally resigned herself to pulling out a quickie meal she could warm up over the fire.

When it grew dark, she shed her jacket and tipped her hat off, allowing her ears and tail to stretch as she ate. The chirruping of daily birds all but ceased as the sun had gone down and when the darkness settled, the realm of nocturnal creatures began to spring to life in earnest. Insects chirruped and buzzed. The occasional hoot of an owl echoed faintly. Her ears gave a languid twitch every once in a while at the noises, finding them somewhat comforting compared to the constant humming of all the machinery that littered the lab. She wouldn't go so far as to call it _familiar_ in the sense of recognition, but it was reassuring at the very least. Everything she had done had been automatic, without thought, and her body seemed to know more of what to do than her own headspace did. Skills she doesn't remember learning coming to life as her hands worked made her wonder just what kind of life she led. It wasn't the first time and she knew it wouldn't be the last, either

She poked at the fire after she was done, occasionally diverting embers here or a branch there to evenly distribute things and keep it going. She checked her watch, gave her surroundings a scan before tossing her stick into the fire. Time to turn in, she reasoned, if she wanted an early start.

Gathering her unused gear, she started tucking them away into her bag, but paused when she spotted something…out of place. Something she was sure she hadn't put in. Reaching in, she wrapped her hand around it, felt the smoothness of its rounded shell and lifted. Her hand barely pulled it beyond the lip of the pack before recognition sprung on her and a split second later, the smooth pokéball she had in her hand split open.

A startled snarl-gasp strangled itself in her throat, lodged and unmoving as light bounced away from the core of the split device and landed squarely in front of her. Already she could feel her blood boiling as the silhouette took form and solidified.

Blue scales and crimson ridge plates gleamed in the firelight, with yellow-red eyes reflecting briefly, turning white-green. Then the head turned and a crooked smile eased itself on Totodile's face and her tail bristled at the croaky, rattling laugh he gave off.

"'Bout time you let me out. I was starting to get bored sitting in that thing."

He gave a sniff, words failing to come to mind as Lupin stared, both dumbly and angrily at the reptilian pokémon. He ambled past her toward the fire and plopped in front of it, looking as comfy as can be.

"You wouldn't happen to have any pokémon chow, would you? I haven't eaten since this afternoon."

Lupin scowled, finally mustering up something somewhat intelligible.

"You…_sneaky_ little bastard. No, I do _not_ have any pokémon chow because I didn't _plan_ on bringing any pokémon! How in the hell did you even get in there?"

"Phillip and the professor. They didn't want you travelling alone, despite your protests. You know, you're being very stupid about not wanting some protection. Don't you remember what I told you about the poison bug-types that roam these forests?" He glanced at her with half-lidded eyes, snorting. "How is it you survived this long without being killed by wandering alone in the wilderness without any pokémon? Stupid."

"Well, I apparently survived long enough and I don't need the opinion of some bratty gator that isn't even a year old on my life choices." Lupin narrowed her eyes, realizing this was getting her nowhere. She remembered she could end it by sending the pokémon back and lifted the pokéball still clutched in her hand. Totodile was immediately on the alert, his body tense as he arched his back and reared up to his hind legs. A hiss emanated from his slightly open maw. She snarled back.

"Stop that! I'm taking you back to the professor _right_ _now_, so help me!"

"You can't! It's nighttime, you don't know what's out there and—"

Lupin cut him short. _Screw being polite,_ she thought. _He's been a pain in my ass since day one. _

"I can see quite well in the dark, thanks. Pretty damn sure I'll be fine."

"So you're going to waste your time hiking back to the professor's lab, in the middle of the night, _just_ to drop me off?" He sounded rather peeved and disappointed, chastising even, as though he was noticing something she wasn't. And it irked her that he spoke as though he knew more. "He's only going to insist you take me if you do that. You might as well not waste your time. He's not asking you to keep me, he's asking me to keep _you_ safe until you return from your errand. That pokémon egg is valuable, he said."

Her tail bristled again, but she finally realized his point. Despite her protests earlier that morning, both the professor and Phillip had gone against her wishes and stuffed the little monster into her pack. They'd deliberately tagged him along as a stowaway for her trip. They wouldn't take him back, not until she returned with the egg. She scowled, dropping her hand with the pokéball still grasped in it and the urge to smash it was tempting. Pokemon freed from their pokéballs were considered wild, weren't they? Trainer-less and free to roam, and she tensed, coiled to break it on the ground. Then the urge passed and she let her arm hang by her side before tossing it listlessly back into her pack.

"Fine. You win for now. Don't fuck with my fire, I want it going for as long as possible."

"I wouldn't _dream_ of putting out this heat source, unless it became necessary. It's chilly out, in case you hadn't noticed."

She hadn't, in fact. She felt fine, warm and cozy and the air didn't feel that cold to her. It was still as balmy as it was during the daylight hours, in fact. But from the close vicinity the water pokémon had placed himself in accordance with the fire, she figured it must've been a huge difference being cold-blooded. She chose not to answer, and instead turned toward her sleeping bag and after a second thought, dragged the satchel over closer to use a pillow. She paused long enough to drag out some food and tore open the packaging, setting it out. "Here. Eat some of this."

Totodile made no moves, eyeing her with half-lidded eyes, nostrils flaring then settling. She felt a little unnerved at the penetrating, unblinking gaze that held hers. She looked away, busying herself with her sleeping bag.

"You look different."

The observation was a simple one, but the admission surprised her nonetheless. She paused, glancing back at the pokémon.

"Yes, well…that's not necessarily a good thing. That's why I wear the coat and hat," she said as her ears gave a faint twitch. Kicking her legs into the sleeping bag, she had to keep her tail's fur from bunching and pinching in the confined space before settling. There was a moment of silence between them as she rolled over on her side, facing away from the fire.

She heard the scuffle of his tail dragging along on the ground, shuffling closer toward the food she'd offered moments before. Then, "It looks better."

Lupin was rather unsure of how to approach that, so she instead, she said nothing. What else could she say to a little reptile that would otherwise insult her? She just didn't have it in her to argue and instead closed her eyes, not exactly looking forward to sleep but unwilling to pass it up. She'd need the energy for tomorrow, after all.

**OoOoOoOoOoO**


	6. Chapter Five: Partner

**Chapter Five:  
Partner**

******_Disclaimer_: I do not own Pokémon in any way, shape, or form. The only "ownership" I can claim are the personalities and my interpretation of how ****Pokémon** look in a more realistic light, but other than that...yeah, I don't own anything on them. XD I do, however, own my original characters and writings, unless otherwise stated. In an exceptional case, a few special OCs belong to their respective owners, I'm merely borrowing them for the story that's to unfold. I'll point them out when their time to show up comes. :3

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

"_Wanna be my friend?"  
"No, you scare me a little."  
_**-House and Lucas, "**_**House M.D.**_**"**

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

For once, she woke without feeling like she was caught in the iron vice grip of terror and confusion. Instead, she woke groggily, almost pleasantly, with a slight weight pressing down on her chest. At first it was barely discernable and she had thought it was merely her perception of the weight of her sleeping bag. But after several belated seconds of trying—and failing—to not focus on it, she realized she could feel bumps and contours through the material, that something was curled on top of her chest and abdomen, something _alive_.

She sprung up with a startled gasp, flinging whatever it was that had been sleeping on top of her into her lap, before it slid onto the ground beside her. Immediately, she found herself transitioning from alarmed to fuming. Blue scales, crimson back plates, yellow-red eyes—that damned Totodile. She found herself tongue-tied, too angry and shocked and—well, she wasn't quite sure about the rest, but she sure as hell wasn't expecting a sneaky little reptile to share her sleeping space.

When she finally managed to collect a few words, she did so with utmost care, enunciating each word so that nothing could be misunderstood.

"What…do you think you were doing?"

"Well, I _was_ sleeping, until you so rudely tossed me onto the ground. Now I'm all dirty, thanks for that," he said in kind. He sounded just as snippy and cross, as though she were the sole offender in this. Lupin's tail bristled and her ears pinned against her head. The sun was barely up and she was already seeing it to be an extremely long day ahead of her. She didn't deem his response with one of her own. Instead, she decided it was too early to deal with this back and forth banter he was obviously expecting and hoping for.

She opted for the silent treatment, although she did shoot him one more nasty glare before getting out of her sleeping bag and began putting on her boots. Totodile eyed her from the spot he had landed on, quiet for once, but it didn't last long. He snorted, short and quick before pushing up to his hind legs and waddling over to the fire pit or what was left of it.

"The fire died and it was cold. You are…very warm. Warmer than any human I've met."

That had her pause, just as she finished lacing her second boot up and she glanced at him, admittedly a little surprised. It lessened her somewhat inflamed temper, bringing it down a few notches. Pursing her lips, she stood and turned toward the sleeping bag, brushing it off and rolling it up as she went.

"Yeah, well…I'm not exactly human, now am I?" She finally replied, giving her tail a purposeful swish. Totodile watched, and she swore she saw something flash in those yellow-red eyes, something akin to interest. She finished rolling it up and whirled the latches around it, snapped them into place, and loaded it back onto her satchel. Then she began fishing out food for the morning, along with a bottle of water, and some matches.

"You don't need to hide it today. I doubt there will be many humans on the road today."

Lupin glanced back at him, a frown tugging at her lips before she turned her gaze toward the main path, not too far from where she had veered from in order to camp. Her ears gave a few experimental twitches and she craned her neck to listen in on the direction of the other camp ahead of them. She gave a sniff, a plethora of scents rushing in and already, she deemed most unimportant, some interesting, and the rest of importance. Two trainers, young, both female, carrying at least two Pokemon each: one feline, two birds, a rat. Meowth, Pidgey, Rattata, her mind suddenly supplied and generic photos of them sprung forth, textbook observation photos from one of the many books in the lab.

She sighed at last, shaking her head.

"There're trainers up ahead. Even if we passed them, I'd rather not risk them catching up and…seeing."

Totodile snorted. "Doubtful. They'll probably spend the day bumbling about in the woods and tall grass, looking for more pokémon." He paused, as though calculating his next response before adding, "Although if they don't do that and continue down the road, I see your point."

She had a gut feeling that keeping things on the down low was the best route to take. She still didn't quite understand, but it was the only thing she had to go on, the only thing she trusted at this point. Understandably, she felt less inclined to trust her headspace with anything beyond daily activities. Although, for now, in this spot, she felt somewhat safe to keep things out for the time being. She managed to get things set up, the fire going, and air filled with the smoky scent of wood burning. Again, a sense of not-quite-familiarity-but-close wove its way into her, making her feel somewhat more relaxed. It was a constant, a comfort, and perhaps it was a mite more familiar than she realized. The sky grew lighter, and the air thickened with soft mist as the food cooked. Totodile sat on one side of the fire, warming himself up, and she on the other. It was, for once, a good kind of silence she was sharing with the reptile, surprisingly.

"You were whimpering in your sleep last night," he finally said, his voice quiet. Lupin twitched in surprise at the sudden intrusion of his voice stabbing through the quietness. She turned her head to look at him, although he kept his gaze locked on the fire. Smoke curled into the air and he watched it lift and disappear. She waited for more and was rewarded for her patience.

"I tried to wake you up. You…calmed down when I got on top of you. I don't know why. But you did. So I left you alone and stayed there, just in case. And it really was cold, so it was a win-win situation, I suppose."

Her breath caught in her throat and she wasn't entirely sure if it was from fear or trepidation—perhaps both, and more—because she wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing.

"Did…did I say anything? A name? A place?" She ventured, trying not to sound desperate for answers, although she was sure she failed. Totodile regarded her with half-lidded eyes, tilted his head a little, as though to view her better.

"What's in it for me?"

"Dammit, please!" She shouted, realizing too late how loud that had sounded. Nearby Pidgey fled from the treetops, screeching in surprise and annoyance. A few Rattata and Sentret barreled out of the grass and through the trees, squeaking in irritation as they ran away. She reeled in her temper, setting her jaw and inhaling slowly before adding, "Please. Just…did I say anything? I…I-I need to know. Please, just…for once, don't be such a brat. I'm letting you stay, aren't I?"

She didn't know if she had once been for pleading. Maybe, maybe not. But at this moment in time, she was. She didn't just want to know, she _needed_ to know. If it gave her a clue of where to look, or even who to look for, it was better than having nothing to grasp at all.

They held one another's gazes for several long moments, she would even hazard to guess nearly a full minute, before he looked away first. It felt like a small victory, although she didn't savor it.

"All right, fine," he finally conceded with what passed as a sigh. "It was hard to make out, but…I think the name you said, it was something like…it sounded like 'Alastor'."

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

A name. She had a name. And it was one she'd seen in her book.

The next hour or so passed in a blur as she flipped through the leather bound book, a pen out to mark each page she found that name in. Her errand was nearly forgotten and only a reminder from the sour looking Totodile had her grudgingly pack up. Afterwards, they started anew down the beaten path that led to Mr. Pokémon's house past the rural forests and cities in between.

During that time, she poured over the entries. She ignored the things about Rougarous, Wendigos, witches, kelpies, spirits, and vampires. She looked for the personal ones, the words that spoke of a life outside hunting strange monsters that seemed to have little or no influence in this world. A name. She had a _name_.

She flipped to the last page, already knowing there was no entry there, but she looked anyway, almost as though she was expecting some new entry to appear with all the answers she needed, wanted. The entry was the same as ever, no magically added ones tailing after it and she sighed. It was something about called 'kitsunes', magically endowed nine-tailed fox demons. Something of the like. It was detailed and interesting, but completely useless to her situation.

She sighed as she slipped back to one of the few dog-eared pages, rereading the entry, then flipped to another, and then another, before she came to the last entry involving this 'Alastor' figure. There wasn't much, but it was enough to paint her a vague picture that this was someone she knew personally, someone who knew her, someone who might be a good friend, or maybe family member. They were someone important to her, at the very least.

_And I'm trying to remember them. _

It was a sliver of hope, at the very least. But it was overshadowed by the fact that she couldn't remember dreaming about them.

She finally closed the book and replaced it back in her satchel as she walked, sparing a fleeting glance at the Totodile trotting beside her on all fours. He seemed focused on the trail ahead of them, quiet and barren and quite empty of any other trainers for quite a while. Lupin couldn't smell any others for miles, so she had finally taken off her hat, letting her ears stretch.

"Hey. We should stop."

She glanced at him, but didn't falter in her steps.

"Hey!"

Fangs sank into her ankle, piercing through the jeans she wore and into her skin. She let out a strangled yelp, both surprised at the attack and from the strength that flipped her down onto the ground. Her teeth clacked at the force in which she hit the ground.

"Get off, _get off_!" She tried kicking with her other foot, but she only met thin air where the sneaky reptile had been. Suddenly the weight she had felt earlier that morning where he'd lain on top of her was back again. A long, toothy snout and yellow-red eyes filled her vision, a snarl resounding in her ears.

"Let's be clear about something so that we don't confuse things in the near future. I am here not because I like you, it was because none of the Professor's other pokémon were willing to be around you for longer than necessary. _They_ are afraid of you, whereas _I_ am not. And that means while I am on this trip, I am not some mindless beast that will starve and march itself onwards just to make _you_ happy for whatever reason that comes to your mind. We stop and rest because it will be our best friend in the long run, _especially_ if we run into wild pokémon."

She stared, dumbfounded and speechless. She worked her mouth, but no words came out. She wasn't entirely sure whether to be offended, angry, or impressed that such a miniscule little beast could render her as such. Another delayed beat passed before she snarled back, and without really thinking about it, she flicked him away. It was barely a smack, a touch, but it flung him off of her and into the dirt a few feet away with surprising force. He shook his head, stunned and pulled himself to his feet, nostrils flared and eyes turning to mere slits.

Lupin twisted onto her side and leapt to her own feet, jaw set tightly. "And let's get something straight on my end: I am not your trainer, but I sure as hell won't have you bossing me around. You're a stowaway, and one thing I know about stowaways is that they don't get the nice little privileges that I've been affording you. So, the new regime around here is we stop when I say, we rest when I say, and we eat when I say. You don't make the rules, I do. I carry your pokéball, and I can just as easily leave you in there the entire trip and you definitely wouldn't starve then, or complain or bite or threaten me. If you want to stay out and stick around, I suggest you get it through your head that you aren't the boss."

_This was a mistake,_ she realized. She should have taken him back and if the professor or Phillip refused, she could have just as easily left the pokéball on the lab's front steps. And this wasn't how she planned her trip away from the lab either. She needed privacy, instinct told her she needed to be alone when the moon was full. She couldn't afford the little blue pest to see…

Cue the secondary standoff of the day, one that didn't rely on her getting information out of the damnable reptile, but one that required saying who was in charge and who wasn't. She could see the gears turning behind those yellow-red eyes, although to what goal they were working toward, she wasn't sure. When he looked away at last with flared nostrils, she knew she'd won once more, but she wondered how many of these were left in either of them. How many more times would they bash heads before the end of the trip, fighting for dominance? She wondered if other people had this much difficulty with one of their pokémon. Then the thought was chased away when she reminded herself that she wasn't a trainer.

_I barely have a license as a lab assistant. And that was brought on as a nicety, not because I'd earned it._

The thought brought on a bitter taste at the back of her mouth and she had to swallow it back down without gagging. Sighing, she glanced back down the way they were headed.

"One more hour. Then we'll stop and rest."

"The forest doesn't end in an hour. We're headed toward the haunted forest."

She stared at him, surprised and dubious.

"Haunted…forest? As in…spirits?"

"Ghost type pokémon. They make the passage through difficult. The professor told me about it before he put me in your bag. You'll need to find the guide's house and rent a pokémon from her."

"Why didn't he tell me this?" _And why wasn't it marked on the map, for that matter…?_

"He didn't want to overwhelm you. He said we should pass through it as quickly as possible, but we do need to rest before we start. It'll take the rest of the day to get through."

She studied Totodile, still somewhat dubious about his claims and suddenly angry with the professor. Why would he even ask her to go if he didn't trust her to get through it on her own? Why bother in agreeing to let her go it alone and then turn around and betray that? That urge to turn heel and march straight back to New Bark Town was strong, almost as though a burning coal was growing hotter in her chest at the indignation at the situation.

"He wanted you safe."

"He barely knows me."

"Yes, true. A bit stupid. But he believes in the good in people. He also believes that people deserve second chances. You got that the moment I pulled you out of the lake and he brought you to the lab. He could have kicked you to the curb or left you at the police station. Instead, he brought you to the lab and gave you a temporary home with a roof and food, and gave you a job, however meager it is. Don't throw that in his face." Totodile cocked his head to the side. "He trusts you enough to help him with this. He didn't want you going off alone, though. We've been lucky a flock of Spearow or a pack of Raticate hasn't attacked, but it's not too late. Maybe the ghosts will get you."

He laughed, shaking his angled head before motioning toward the side of the road. "I told you, rest will be your best friend. And you'll need it before the forest. After that, we'll reach Florando. We can rest in a pokémon center there, free room and board for the night. And all the hot chow I can get."

He seemed so sure and so…smug about it. It really grated her nerves, but she realized, he did have a point. She would have been overwhelmed by the information. To have someone to share that mental burden with, it was the slightest relief she was actually grateful for. Then a thought hit her.

"Wait. How did the professor know you'd get this information to me in one piece? He can't understand you."

"He knows you can speak to and understand pokémon." The answer was said rather bluntly, with a hint of '_are you really that stupid?_' coating his tone. She resisted the urge to scowl.

"H-how…?"

"He's a _professor_. He's not a complete idiot, he _does_ notice things, ya know. He hasn't gained that prestigious title for his charming people skills, I can say that much." He eyeballed her with a little more steel to his gaze, rattling laughter sounding off in his throat again. "He noticed it from day one when you first met us. He feigned ignorance for the time being. I told you before. You're a rarity in the world. Very few people can understand pokémon. Call it a gift, although in your case, it might be something natural to you, given your…inhuman status."

Totodile cocked his head, pausing ever so briefly. "What are you, anyway?"

The frankness and pure curiosity that bordered innocent threw her off, and it made her anger die down some. Uncertainty replaced it, filled her up and made her duck her gaze. Her hands, which had been clenched at her sides, loosened and she began to fidget with them.

"I don't…really know. I…I found a journal that had been in my pockets and in it, it has…_things_ written and drawn pictures inside it. A lot of things inside, weird things, but one of the things I think I might be is a…a werewolf."

"And what, in Arceus' name, is a werewolf?" He gave her a dubious look now, inching closer. She was apprehensive to share, but she knew he wouldn't quit. Plus, she didn't feel like having his teeth sinking into her ankle again.

"…A monster. Something that…eats people. I'd…apparently turn into some sort of…wolf creature on full moons and go hunting. It…it explains the tail, the ears, the…stronger sense of smell, sight, hearing…everything." A lengthy pause enveloped them. She barely felt the breeze that began to pick up tickling her face and teasing her hair, nor could she feel the sun's warmth disappearing as it hid behind some clouds above. Totodile kept his eyes locked on hers, not daring to break away this time. Or so it seemed for a long while. His nostrils flared slightly, giving a faint nod toward the road, ducking his gaze.

"We should rest and eat now. We'll have plenty of time to bicker the rest of the trip." With that, he moved off the path and toward a spacious grassy knoll just behind a thin copse of trees. "C'mon, hurry up. Don't make me drag your tail over here like I did dragging it out of that lake."

She blinked at the sudden shift in his demeanor, at the casualness he'd taken in the news. She eyed his waddling backside a second longer before slowly following after him, hefting her satchel a little higher on her shoulders. Slowly, she went through the motions of getting things set up, even if it was only for some lunch. Cold cuts and some bread were quickly pulled out, along with a small wedge of cheese and some water. She handed out bits of cold cuts as she nibbled on her cheese, eyeing the blue-scaled reptile all the while. There was very little comfort in the way he'd abruptly changed subjects after her confession. It gnawed at her until she was nearly finished with her food and she finally had to say something, _anything_.

Putting down her bottle, she regarded Totodile before asking, "Do you…believe me, or are you just going to sit there quiet-like and pretend everything's all right and really think that I'm crazy?"

"The second one."

Lupin scowled. "I'm being serious."

"So'm I. Do you honestly expect me to believe that story? If you don't want to tell me, then fine, I'll play along for the time being. It's not like I honestly care, even if it is interesting. I told you before, and I'll tell you again. I'm not here because I'm concerned for you, I'm here because the professor had me come, and because you interest me and not in the happy, fuzzy way either. You are a strange case. You're neither human nor pokémon…maybe you're both. That's why you smell so strange."

He sounded so matter-of-fact, so sure, so…so _smug_.

Like he knew what it was already and she was too dim to catch on. It infuriated her, but she kept quiet for the time being in spite of herself. Instead, she put her focus on finishing the rest of her food, gathering the trash and packing up everything else. After checking the map, she traced the route they were on with her finger, then poked at the town labeled 'Florando'. She frowned, measuring the distance and mentally calculating the time it would take to get there.

"It's almost thirty miles away. There's no way we can make it by nightfall."

Totodile shuffled closer, sticking his snout close to the map and eyeballed the route. He snorted.

"We don't have to. We just need to make it through the forest. Here," he motioned with a clawed digit to a patch of green. "This is all haunted forest territory. The professor showed me. We just need to find the woman who loans out Hoothoots to trainers."

"Hoot…hoot?" She echoed, her brow furrowing in puzzlement. If Totodile had the ability to roll his eyes, she was very sure he would have done so. Instead he gave her that look that told her she was being stupid without actually saying it.

"Yes. Very good. _Hoot-hoot_. Powder puff feather balls that look like a gourmet meal with wings." She saw the hungry gleam in his eyes and she scowled, rolling the map back up.

"Don't eat the rental pokémon."

"I would _never_!" He replied in a huff of mock offense. "I would rather catch and eat a wild one. They look so plump; it's hard not to think of them as food."

"You do know that the feathers on birds make them look fatter than they really are, right?"

"Apparently, you've never seen a Hoothoot," he said, then motioned with his snout toward the road. "We'll be cutting it close with the forest. It's just another few miles down the road. Come on."

She stared after the waddling blue-and-red backside of the Totodile, his tail scraping along in the dirt behind him. Lupin glanced back behind her, down the road they'd just marched along before their impromptu stop to rest. The sky above was a clear and piercing blue with barely a cloud in sight, while the forest below was deep green and brown and gray with shadow, patches of wild tall grass making up large clearings beyond the road and trees.

Her ears twitched beneath her hat at the sound of Totodile calling to her. With a resigned sigh, she turned on her heel and grudgingly followed after him.

**OoOoOoOoOoO**


	7. Chapter Six: Flicker

**Chapter Six:  
Flicker**

_**Disclaimer**_**: I do not own Pokémon in any way, shape, or form. The only "ownership" I can claim are the personalities and my interpretation of how Pokémon look in a more realistic light, but other than that...yeah, I don't own anything on them. XD I do, however, own my original characters and writings, unless otherwise stated. In an exceptional case, a few special OCs belong to their respective owners, I'm merely borrowing them for the story that's to unfold. I'll point them out when their time to show up comes. :3**

**_Note_: *peeps head around corner and waves* Hello, all. Sorry for the delay in updates, I was away at training for over two weeks and just got back. But, I wanted to get this out here before I forgot. Now, on with the show!**

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

"_What are we doing?"  
"We're hunting a ghost."  
"A ghost, exactly. Who _does_ that?"  
"…Us."_**  
-Dean and Sam, "**_**Supernatural**_**"**

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

"You _do_ realize just how close you're cutting it by leaving this late in the day, don't you?"

The elderly woman, who had introduced herself as Hagatha, eyed her for a lengthy period of time before turning her shrewd gaze onto the wandering Totodile. He was sniffing the cages filled with quietly resting Hoothoot, their faces hidden beneath their wings as they snoozed. One had been disturbed by the rattling his tail made against one of the cages and was now puffed up, red eyes beadily watching the Totodile. A long, dry hiss emitted from its partially open beak.

"Hey, hey! Get out of there! Stay away, you little scavenger! Please contain your Totodile, I don't want it disturbing them."

Lupin swallowed the kneejerk comment that he wasn't her Totodile, that she was only borrowing him. She didn't need the headache to explain things to every person she came across for her situation, she reasoned. She could only find it in her to simply obey the decrepit looking old woman, trudging over to the greedy-eyed pokémon and snatch him up into her arms. He wriggled and squealed protests at her, but she growled by his ear to stop it and behave.

She felt his body coil with tension, a soft hiss of warning not unlike the Hoothoot's from moments before emanate from Totodile. She scowled at the back of his head and shifted him to her shoulder. Grudgingly, he allowed her to do so.

"Googly old hag," she heard him mutter as he settled himself to drape over her like a scaly scarf.

"Shut it, and let me negotiate with the nice lady, wouldja? She's been very patient with us and if you eat her Hoothoot, I will skin you alive and give your scales to her as an apology gift."

The small comment seemed to perk the elderly woman up and she grinned, revealing several gaps where her teeth used to be.

"My, my, your mother must have taught you some good discipline skills and good manners to boot. Buttering me up like that…" She chortled, smacking Lupin's arm good naturedly before turning back toward the aviary. Lupin offered a meek smile in return, although her stomach flip-flopped on itself and her mouth went dry.

"Yes…she did. She…certainly did. Respect for my elders and whatnot," she added quietly, following after the hunchbacked woman as she motioned for her to follow.

"I get a lot of traffic from New Bark Town when trainers decide to pass through this forest. The ghosts don't bother me none, not with all my Hoothoot, but then again, they never bothered me much before either. But I was tired of trainers losing their way or, Legendaries forbid, dying in those woods, so I decided to set up this small business. It's still small, but humble enough to get me by."

Hagatha continued down the lane, gazing into the darkened cages with a sharp eye, a frown tugging her lips down. She motioned with a gnarled finger to one of them as they passed it by, "This one used to give me so much trouble. Wouldn't listen to a trainer at all, except for the pretty girls." She chuckled slyly at this at a peek of red eyes opening to watch them pass. "But now he's one of my best navigators, although he's not the quickest."

The aforementioned Hoothoot lifted its head from under its wing at its mentioning, peering down at them as they passed with red eyes. It shivered, feathers puffing up and out, before they slowly all began to settle.

"This forest is filled with ghost types. Gastly and Haunter are by far the most common. Occasionally, there are Gengar that roam about, although they don't stick around for very long and move on. I wouldn't want to be under their radar, however. It bodes ill for whoever crosses their path wrongly. Spiteful creatures."

The old woman passed her best navigator on by and paused before the end of the line of cages in the aviary and motioned to a small poof ball of feathers standing on a branch, its face hidden away under its wing as well.

"Here she is. This one. She'll take you through the quickest. I would feel better if you weren't in this forest for any longer than you have to be. Especially this late in the day."

She turned to give Lupin a fierce little stare, lips pressed so tightly together, Lupin thought she'd lose another tooth. "Keep your snaggle-toothed Totodile away from her. I don't fancy losing one of my birds to his fangs."

"I wouldn't want that scrawny little feather ball—"

Lupin abruptly cut off the insult by grabbing his jaws and pinching them shut. "Sorry. He's a rude little thing. I'm working on that."

Even if Hagatha couldn't understand, Lupin didn't want to be subjected to listen to him. She was kept under the critical gaze of the old woman before she gave a snort and a curt nod. Crooked hands worked at the latch of the cage with surprising dexterity and she coaxed the little Hoothoot awake and out of the cage.

"All I require is three hundred yen for the trip through the forest and a hundred for the care and safety of my Hoothoot. I'm not liable for injuries if you're attacked while using her, and I don't want you using her in battle, either. Simply use her Foresight to reveal any ghosts you come across trying to trick you. They'll usually flee, but if they don't, use whatever other pokémon you have on you to battle them."

With the bird in tow, she motioned for Lupin to follow back through the lane of cages and to the main house proper. Lupin glanced at Totodile perched on her shoulder, a frown tugging at her lips. If they were attacked and he was too injured to fight back, then what was she supposed to do? Run back the way she came? Or should she just fight herself? She didn't even know how to utilize a pokémon in a battle, she realized. The more she learned the less sure she felt of herself that she should continue with a pokémon as a traveling companion.

She kept her worries quiet for the time being, and slipped out of the aviary, with its scent of feather dust and bird droppings and rotted meat from the birds' daily meals behind. They entered the house proper and crossed through until they exited the front door. Totodile shifted a little more comfortably on her shoulder, watching the old woman and the Hoothoot with his gleaming yellow-red eyes, mouth slightly agape as they stepped outside into the sun.

The woman turned on her heel toward Lupin and thrust her knobby hand out toward the werewolf, fingers crooked and clawed. Her face was grim and etched with deep, weathered lines, but her eyes were sharp and calculating as she regarded Lupin. "I require half the payment upfront. When you reach the other side, you fill the little pouch on Reyna's foot with the rest."

She then motioned faintly toward the visible foot clinging to the woman's thin wrist. A little pouch sat there, just as she said, tied comfortably by a leather thong. Lupin only nodded, before pulling her wallet out of her back pocket to fish out the required payment. When the last of the money was counted off, she was offered the Hoothoot. Lupin reached out and pressed her hand against the Hoothoot's underbelly. Another leg, hidden beneath the thick down of feathers, appeared suddenly and grasped her hand with surprising firmness, sharp claws digging into her skin. Lupin winced, but was more surprised at the amount of heat emanating from the bird's scaly foot. Pulling the bird close, the Hoothoot made a soft hiss and Lupin caught wind of "damned reptile", from the owl pokémon.

The old woman studied Lupin carefully for a few moments more before nodding and giving her pokémon a last pet on the head. Then Hagatha turned toward her front door.

"Reyna is my fastest navigator. She'll get you through in a jiffy, if you follow her route, that is. I doubt you'd want to stay the night in this forest, so you'd best take off now."

With a wave over her shoulder, she closed the door and the sound echoed resoundingly in the sudden silence that came pouring in. Then the sound faded away and Lupin was left alone with the Totodile and Hoothoot, the haunted forest looming over them like a sinister, dark beast that beckoned them to come forth.

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

"You don't seem to mind being close to her. She isn't human, you know. Can't you smell it?"

"I'm right here, you know."

"I can't smell that well. I see a lot better. That's how I hunt. Besides, she doesn't smell _that_ strange."

"Still right here."

"She won't tell me what she is. She says she's a monster. I don't believe that, but she doesn't smell human. You sure you can't smell that?"

"I'm still right here! You're both on either of my shoulders; I can hear everything you two are saying! I'm not deaf!"

Feathers brushed against one cheek, scales on the other, but both were beginning to grate on her nerves. Especially the talking. The literal talking over her head was the worst.

"You don't believe me? Here. See for yourself."

The hat atop her head was suddenly yanked off with such force it left one of her ears stinging with the way it pulled her fur the wrong way. She gave a yelp of surprise and indignation. The Hoothoot sitting on her right side screeched into it in just as much a surprise, taking to the air and beating her head with short wings to flutter away. The strong gust knocked Totodile off balance and he scrabbled in vain for purchase. His blunt claws dug into her back and shoulder, tail whipping about before he flopped onto the ground with a shriek of his own, Lupin's hat still clutched in his jaws.

All three remained rooted to their spots, hearts pounding and breathing hard.

Totodile was the first to collect his wits and turned his crooked snout toward Reyna the Hoothoot and rattled off a laugh at her. "See? I told you. She even has a tail under her coat! It's fuzzy and twitches a lot."

"What _is_ she? That's so weird, she can't be a human, humans don't have those! None that I've seen, anyway."

"I'M RIGHT HERE!"

Her voice resonated off into the darkness beyond the trail of the forest, echoing eerily into the air. Lupin barely noticed as she slid her glare from the Hoothoot to the Totodile, who still deemed it appropriate to carry on their conversation right over her head. Totodile laughed once more. Reyna remained silent, feathers puffed, wings drawn up self-consciously as though in plain shame at the act.

"You. You're going back in the pokéball," she pointed at Totodile, before turning and doing the same to Reyna. She squawked and puffed up further in shock. "And you. Just do your damned job. Get me through here quickly and then you can go home where you don't have to see these anymore and worry."

With that said, she reached down and snatched her hat up from the surprised and gaping jaws of Totodile. Settling it back onto her head with one hand, she started fishing out Totodile's pokéball with the other, already had it aimed at the little crocodilian when silence crashed down on them. The forest had already been silent before, with its deceptively cheery dappled sunlight and shadowy sinews of tree branches providing shade over the trail. But this, this was a different kind of silence. It felt abrupt, like a door slamming and the way the shadows danced, it felt as though the entire atmosphere had suddenly shifted, with the air growing denser and the light fading quickly. It was noticeable, and sent bone-deep chills crawling down her spine and the chills were worming their way deeper still. Lupin's breath caught in her chest, suddenly so, when she felt that shiver come over her in a sudden, unwelcome wave. An iron vice gripped them all, she could see the unease in Totodile and the lack of hoots from Reyna behind her only furthered her suspicion. Slowly, Lupin replaced the pokéball back into her coat pocket and slid to a knee, motioning for Totodile. He came just as sluggishly, quietly taking her offer to clamber onto her shoulder without needing further prompting. His body was coiled with tension, ready to spring at a moment's notice, but she felt he was shaking terribly. Then Lupin turned toward Reyna and she froze.

Behind the Hoothoot, a grotesque face was carved into the wood of the tree and was becoming more defined still. Sinister and appallingly so, the face actually moved. Its jaws widened and was laden with fangs, its eyes gleaming, and shaped into sinisterly gleeful slits and they seemed to glow red from the core. Tree branches began to shake around them, the wood creaking horrendously, as though they were coming to life. It blocked out the light further, throwing them into shadows and darkness. The leafless branches dipped lower, the craggy limbs arching their crooked claws down, reaching for them. Lupin's tail bristled and her ears pressed further against her head when she began to notice faces were beginning to appear on the other tree trunks. All the jeering expressions were staring at them, she realized, watching with that sinister light and she could feel the miasma of tension thickening by the second. It only seemed to worsen when she picked up on the faint, overlapping whispers and eerie, creepy laughter that echoed around them.

"Reyna…what do you do…when something weird happens in this place? What's that move your owner taught you?"

It took Reyna a moment to respond, as she began to take in what was happening around them. She shook her tail feathers and ruffled her feathers a bit, looking only slightly perturbed by the sight surrounding them. Then she took to wing and glided silently toward Lupin. The werewolf held out her arm and Reyna landed, graceful as can be and settled comfortably on her perch.

"Foresight." She simply responded, and her eyes gleamed bright red, before the light projected out and doused the surrounding area in it.

Shadows against the trees stood out starkly in the light, as though their true shapes had been revealed. As the light receded, the shadows against the trees remained, floating in midair unassisted. Hisses and moans of pain and disgruntlement filled the air now, more out of annoyance than anything.

"Dammit, you Hoothoot ruin all the fun! Can't you let us mess with these trainers more often without interfering from the get-go?" One voice called and shortly was backed by murmurs of agreement.

The shadowy shapes peeled themselves away from the trees, floating in the air still well above their heads. The longer Lupin stared, however, she could see that they weren't of corporeal shape nor did they seem physically there. They were gaseous and their bodies, even while in one place, seemed ready to shift at a moment's notice into something less substantial. Amorphous in some moments, nearly-solid in others, Lupin didn't believe they had real bodies.

Ghost types, the old crone had said, roamed the haunted forest. That was why it was called as such. She could suddenly see why the professor didn't bother to burden her with the knowledge of this place before her departure; he didn't want her to worry about running into these creatures any more than she had to. She eyed the gathered shadowy shapes above, could see sinister eyes peering down with wicked mirth in them, furthered only by the gleeful smiles full of fangs flashed their way. Totodile grew tenser, if it was possible, and bared his teeth at them in return, hissing as menacingly as he could.

Instinctively and without really thinking, she brought a hand up to stroke his head in an attempt to soothe him. She didn't feel afraid, not really, but she wasn't exactly comfortable, either. They made her fur bristle and her skin pimple with gooseflesh.

Reyna '_hmphed_' from her perch on Lupin's arm, unperturbed by the floating dark creatures.

"If you don't want to end up lying around in a puddle of your own gases, then scat! She's not staying here to be your plaything, so move on and go find someone else to torture."

"Oh, c'mon, Reyna," one of the shapes moved closer, a perfect black ball of shadowy gas and wide eyes and big teeth. "We weren't gonna _hurt_ her. Just _scare_ her a little."

Chortles and sniggers came from the others. Reyna screeched piercingly and the ball of gas retreated with a wail and a curse. The others backed off, falling silent. Lupin winced, her ears ringing slightly.

"You've already scared several trainers, quite literally to death. Why do you think Hagatha rents us to trainers these days?" Another screech resounded from the little owl, who appeared twice her size now because she had puffed all her feathers up. "Now get out of here or you'll regret it! I'll get Hagatha's Noctowls down here if you don't!"

Lupin waited, as did Totodile. Then slowly, one by one, each of the shadowy creatures began to fade from sight right in front of them. Soon they were all alone, the three of them. Or so it seemed. Lupin felt as though there were eyes upon them still, waiting from the shadows, invisibly lurking. It sent another chill down her spine.

Reyna's feathers smoothed, but only slightly and she took to the air once more, her wing beats nearly silent even to Lupin's hearing.

"This way. It's getting late and we have a ways to go."

Neither pokémon nor werewolf complained and Lupin took off at a brisk pace, but she couldn't shake the feeling of being followed and watched.

"I have the same feeling," Totodile admitted quietly when she said so later in the day. He was still shaking, and she wasn't sure whether it was from tension or fear or both.

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

"What is that?"

Reyna paused in a branch above them and hooted curiously, hopping to turn around and looked down. Lupin had paused in her blazing trail along the forest path Reyna was leading her down when something caught her eye. She narrowed her eyes at the sight beyond, dancing little lights in the shadows, almost as though beckoning her to follow and…it was tempting. Very tempting. But something else reared up in warning at the back of her head like a recalcitrant horse. It was tiny and overshadowed by curiosity, however, and she stepped off the path toward the bouncing lights. It was only when Reyna came swooping in and screeching in her face that the trance ended and the temptation was pushed to the back of her head. Totodile hissed in return and Lupin flailed an arm to push the bird away from her face in defense with a strangled cry of surprise.

"Don't follow the lights!" She shrieked, landing on a fallen tree's upraised branch, feathers puffy and menacing. "Those are Litwicks. They'll steal you away from this world if you follow them."

"Litwicks?"

"More ghost types. The forest used to be filled with just Gastly and Haunter and the occasional Gengar…but ever since other trainers began crossing through every region, they've brought their own pokémon from those regions as well. Litwicks aren't native to Johto, but they sometimes end up in this forest. A high volume area of ghost types will attract other ghost types. Litwicks don't linger often here, but they're occasional, alongside others that migrate through. They'll try to trick you into following them, pretend that they're leading you out of the forest like a helpful guiding light. Then they'll steal your life away. That's why their flames get brighter, because they feed off of the life force of those around them. It's dangerous to own them as a trainer. They might just kill you if they stayed out longer than necessary."

Lupin turned to look at the bouncing light again, before she saw that it didn't look normal, and the same creeping feeling as when the Gastly and Haunter had appeared came back. The hairs on the back of her neck rose, alongside the fur on her tail and made everything stand on end. The chill that had finally fled for the most part returned with a vengeance. The light wasn't normal, now that Reyna had inputted her word on it. It wasn't bright and cheery and tempting to follow anymore. It was ominous and dark, despite the light it provided. It was violet-hued, she also noted, such a strange and unusual colour for a flame. Violet like…

Her hand drifted to her back pocket where she kept her wallet stored, where she kept all those pictures she had found stashed away. Violet like…the eyes of the man in her pictures. Her brow furrowed, puzzled at the sudden thought, and the urge to pull it out was strong. But a light nudge from Totodile on her shoulder brought her out of her reverie, the thoughts of pictures and violet coloured eyes and mysterious, smiling faces completely forgotten.

"Keep moving. It's almost night time and that's when the ghosts really come out. I don't want to be stuck in here any longer."

She nodded, quiet on the fact that he was still shaking, and she was sure it was from fear now. Gently, she raised a hand and gave his back a soothing pet before falling back into step onto the path. He settled somewhat, eyes locked on Reyna as she fluttered above them on silent wings, casting out a blinding light ahead of them and chasing away the shadowy figures that appeared.

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

The sun was sinking below the horizon when they finally passed through the tree line of the haunted forest and out into the open air. It felt fresher as they stepped into the clearing, less sick, less tempting to let the forest simply take them and never let them go. The chill that had riddled Lupin's spine was slowly easing away with the faintest of tingles and the shaking tension that plagued Totodile as he rode along on her shoulder was as well. He practically slumped against her now, too exhausted to pass along quips with Reyna as she came to perch on Lupin's outstretched arm when coaxed over.

She slipped her wallet back out for the second time that day and placed the last of Hagatha's payment into the little pouch strapped to Reyna's ankle. With a nod of approval, the Hoothoot thanked Lupin before taking off again, this time over the trees of the forest.

Lupin watched until the owl pokémon was gone before turning to look down the road.

"Do you…want to pitch up camp here or would you rather go down a ways?"

"Do you have to ask?" He grumbled moodily back, glowering at her with his one visible eye. Lupin sighed, boots scuffling as she took to the road again, although it didn't escape her notice how swollen the moon looked.

**OoOoOoOoOoO**


	8. Chapter Seven: Howl

**Chapter Seven:  
Howl**

**_Disclaimer_: I do not own Pokémon in any way, shape, or form. The only "ownership" I can claim are the personalities and my interpretation of how Pokémon look in a more realistic light, but other than that...yeah, I don't own anything on them. XD I do, however, own my original characters and writings, unless otherwise stated. In an exceptional case, a few special OCs belong to their respective owners, I'm merely borrowing them for the story that's to unfold. I'll point them out when their time to show up comes. :3  
**

**Note: *waves again* Thought I'd go on a semi-regular schedule, so another chapter is to be had! Also, guest appearance has finally made itself aware. :D**

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

_If you could only see the beast you've made of me  
I held it in but now it seems you've set it running free  
The saints can't help me now, the ropes have been unbound  
I hunt for you with bloody feet across the hallowed ground  
_**-"**_**Howl**_**" by Florence & The Machine**

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

It was quiet and dark when he awoke. He hadn't been expecting that ride to be such a doozy, but then again, he hadn't really expected to travel from one world to the next in the first place, either. The first impression he interpreted were sounds and smells, split seconds before sight kicked in and everything was laid out before him, dark or not. Superb night vision had its advantages. Thick, woody scents assaulted his nose, his mind automatically pinpointing his location in a forest of sorts. The heavy musk of animals from their constant traffic through the area, and even the near-constant scent marks of humans pushing through came to him. Things were already categorizing as vital, not important, and some of slight interest but not immediately so. It only took a few moments to gather his bearings before he began prioritizing what needed to be done.

...if only he could catch her scent.

That would be nice a nice, convenient start. He was _supposed_ to be in the same place she'd been dumped so unceremoniously, after all, but then again, he didn't trust everything that had been planned. Not completely.

He turned his attention to the task, eyeing his surrounding, noting the dense growth of the woods, perfect for wild animals to hunt, but clear enough to traverse for people. He could smell everything carried on the wind or in the vicinity with growing clarity and none of it registered as immediately vital to him. The one scent he wanted to find, he could already tell it wasn't here, that she hadn't come through here. That much, he could already articulate from the get go and it irked him.

He wished he'd gone with her on that hunt instead of letting her go alone, then maybe…just maybe, none of this would have happened. It was not for the first time the thought has crossed his mind, and it wouldn't be the last, not until he found her. "Gone, but not dead," had been his first clue that there was hope, and it had been the one saving grace that kept him from snapping the neck of the monster who had done all of this. It didn't take long after before the bastard had finally cracked, finally conceded to send him to the unknown world he'd so contemptuously tossed his mate into. Flinging unwitting victims into a portal seemed to be this particular nasty beastie's not-so-guilty pleasure.

Too long, he'd waited _too long_ to start looking and he was feeling an inkling of regret gnaw away at his gut. He knew she could take care of herself, fine and dandy, but there were times he worried more than usual, especially during long periods of no contact. Or when she came home, smelling of her own blood, more saturated than usual, and her mood plateaued in the realm of melancholy from whatever horror show freak she'd dedicated herself to eradicating. And for all he knew, this place could have been a veritable wasteland with little to no chances of survival that she'd been flung into because of the latest mishap. Looking at it now, he doubted it, but he was still wary and on alert.

Pausing to give the sky a glance, he stiffened momentarily at the sight of a full moon that sat in the black sky like a huge coin, silvery-blue and bright. His shoulders dropped, a fraction of an inch or so. The full moon…that would mean she'd be out in her fur, hunting, or already eating her kill, or perhaps even resting. It was not his time to shift, his schedule was slightly off from hers, but still…a chill rushed down his spine at the sudden memories of loping in his fur alongside her, and he felt a twinge of regret stir inside him. He should never have let her go alone, not this time, he knew he should have listened to his gut instinct, but no. He let her go alone, like he's done hundreds of times before, trusting she'd be all right, trusting she'd come back.

Sudden movement halted his thoughts, made him tense and he waited, on edge, eyes sweeping over toward the direction it came from. Something small and quick darted between one shrub to another, whisked around to the backside of a thick tree trunk and then…nothing. A few seconds passed. Then a furry snout came poking out, twitching and sniffing, followed by a squashed little face, with a waddling body trailing behind it. He could already see mismatched, zig-zag patterns decorating its fur. It looked like a cross between a dog and a raccoon, with a black mask over its liquid brown eyes. Its fur was coarse and in spike-like tufts and coloured in creams and light browns.

He stared, taken aback, before he let out a gush of air that he hadn't known he'd been holding until it puffed into a relieved laugh. The noise startled the creature and it jumped in the air before turning tail as soon as its feet hit the ground, darting back the way it had come.

Oh, _relief_. It felt so good to have that strain of worry and anxiety that had been building up like a festering sickness suddenly deflate and ease away. He quickly felt less apprehension for her, and realized she could have been sent somewhere, anywhere far worse than this place. She could have been sent to somewhere so much worse than this world. Yet, she was here, where he knew the creatures inhabiting this place had been nothing but fantastical monsters that occupied the imagination and gaming of children where he was from.

The minute Alastor found Lupin, he was going to hold her close and not her go for a good long while. And then he was going to smack her upside the head for worrying him and for getting herself in such a predicament in the first place.

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

"Why aren't we headed into town?"

Lupin poked at the fire, stoking and adjusting a log with a thick stick. Its tip was a bright, cherry red and the embers beneath glowed red hot, bright and cheery as the fire made the wood crackle and pop. Satisfied, she put the stick down and turned her attention to the simmering pot hanging on its pole above the fire, ladling at the stew inside. It was thick and hearty, and especially very meaty, laden with Tauros meat she'd bought in Florando. With a pinch of salt and pepper and some herbs, it was very enticing and easy on the nose. Even Totodile briefly forgot his own question at the scent for a few seconds before he shook his head and repeated it more sternly.

"We can get way better chow down in the Pokémon Center in town. Like the chow we _should_ have gotten when we stopped in Florando, but nooooo…" He added with a beady glare. He grumbled a bit more as he trudged around the campfire toward her when she ignored him. She continued stirring, lifting her sleeve out of reach when he made to snap at it. He snarled, back plates flaring before he scampered around her. A few seconds passed before she felt her tail singing with pain. She whirled, ignoring the painful twinge her back made at the slight contortion as she stared, aghast at the sight. Totodile had latched his jaws around her tail and try as she might to pull it away, he stubbornly hung on.

She made a swipe at him, cringing every time a jolt of pain raced up from her tail bone, along her spine, and to the back of her skull. He ducked, giving it another harsh tug and she let out a strangled half-snarl, half-cry.

"Get off, get off!"

"Not until we go into town!" He growled back, his mouth muffled by her fur.

"We _can't_, not tonight all right, just—get the fuck _off_ of me!"

She finally managed a hit, but it was a glancing one. He released at last, skittering across the ground on all fours before rearing back to his hind legs on the other side of the campfire. His eyes glittered in the fire light, his scales catching in the sunset's dying rays that still barely peeked over treetops. Lupin was smoothing her tail over gingerly, the pain already receding. She had her eyes locked on Totodile, however, her hackles raised and a growl building in her chest.

"We're on a tight schedule, in case you forgot. We're not going to dally around out in the woods just because you don't want people to see your furry little butt."

"Look, tonight isn't a good night, but we can go down tomorrow. We'll even be in Cherrygrove by then and we'll be right on schedule—"

"Why can't we go tonight? We're right there. And don't start with that full moon tale again. You're not some shapeshifting monster, you're a liar with a weird tail and fuzzy ears trying to pass yourself off as human. It's pathetic, you barely put any effort into hiding anything." He snorted derisively at her, nostrils flaring and yellow-red eyes narrowing to mere slits.

Lupin didn't bother with the stare down game. Instead, she whipped out his pokéball and recalled him. The split-second look of surprise on his face before he disappeared in a flash of light would have been a priceless reward for everything he's done up to this point to her. It would have given her some satisfaction, some relief, at not having to put up with his smug attitude and know-it-all air of a lab-raised pokémon. But it didn't. It left her feeling a white-hot rage building knots in her chest, twisting over on itself so tightly, it was spreading painfully down to her limbs, her stomach, her very core.

It took her a very long minute to realize that the pain really was real and that it wasn't imagined. It wove over itself, tighter and tighter, making it hard to breathe and she struggled to keep her limbs from shaking but to no avail. She dropped the pokéball, and turned away before stumbling to her hands and knees. Lifting her head, she hurriedly scanned the sky. It was nearly dark, the sky that had been bleeding its last dredges of daylight before disappearing to the cooler scheme of night. She searched for the moon, but couldn't find it, not with the trees blocking the horizon. Another twist and brief stab of agony in her chest and gut had her tensing up again and she twisted away further from the campfire.

She heard, rather than felt, something rip and her ears swiveled in its direction long before the idea to search with her eyes came to mind. When it did, she craned her neck, trying to minimize the movements to keep her head to stop aching so much, but the pain took a brief backseat. She could feel her arms beginning to bulge and her frame expanding out, and fur was bristling out of flesh. Rough, dark patches began covering the tips of her fingers and the palm of her hand like thick black calluses. Her finger nails—already tipped with sharp, thick points—thickened further, darkened, lengthened into curving hooks. And everything else just seemed to grow and bulge and _shift_.

Well, everything except her clothes. The last second idea to strip off her long coat and kick her boots off came in a rush and she fumbled with inarticulate hands to yank the laces off and just in time. She heard and felt the crunch and crack of bones and briefly wondered, horrified, if her body was _breaking_ itself before she realized it was physically readjusting, rearranging.

Her brief stint of curiosity was thrown on the backburner as well as she felt everything stretching, rippling, _changing_. Clear thoughts scattered at the faint noise of ripping, tearing, screaming, roaring—

…was that…_her_ making that horrible noise?

Everything seemed clouded now, the pain peaking somewhere between agonizing and sweet, unbearable and euphoric. It hurt, it really did, especially her face as it began to swell and lengthen, but there was a blissful release once everything began to settle down and ease itself into place. She had tried to fight it at first, but when she had relaxed, it came easier and was less painful to endure. The transition wasn't smooth, even when she stopped tensing up, but it was smoother than resisting completely.

She lay on the ground when everything seemed to have finally settled and stopped, panting heavily, her tongue lolling. Air gushed out of her lungs and was sucked back in greedily while her heart pounded away in her chest. It soon began to slow, as did her pulse. The pain from before was a faint throb, and was replaced by a tingle, and that too was beginning to ebb away. With a soft grunt, she pushed herself up. Her vision swam only for the briefest of moments before she steadied herself and she was up on her feet. She swayed, somewhat off balance, then stilled and realized almost immediately: _I'm taller._

She snorted, glancing down. Everything was covered in fur, she realized, except for all the scarred areas on her body, like the burn marks on her wrists or the claw marks on her abdomen. She saw torn clothing around her and let out a soft whimper, although she noted her boots and coat were in relatively good condition. Her boot laces were slightly frayed from where her claws had torn at them, but she could get them replaced in Cherrygrove, she reasoned.

Diverting her attention away from the destroyed clothing articles, she breathed in deep and a heady rush of different scents came rushing in and flying through her head. The campfire was the strongest, muscling in to the forefront of her mind. Then the wafting scent of her cooking dinner that still simmered over the campfire caught her attention. She had hoped to eat something beforehand, hoping to quell most of her hunger and perhaps stay in one spot instead of wandering away. Other scents—a myriad of animal musk and plant fragrances; fresh water from a stream or creek; humans and pokémon alike—came sailing on through the filter next, and she immediately categorized them as insignificant and not an immediate danger to her at the moment. She moved heavy paws forward, shuffling slowly toward the campfire.

The heat was strong, but it was dying. No matter. She had no need for fire tonight, not when she was covered in thick, but soft fur. The wind was picking up, tickling her nose and bringing on fresher scents. She inhaled again and shuddered. Nothing of interest, she noted again. Nothing of importance, at least not yet. Turning back to the fire, she reached for the pot and took it off the pole, her mouth salivating at the scent of cooking meat. The pads on the tips of her hand-like paws gripped it well and she brought it down to the ground, sniffing hungrily. It was hot as she stuck her snout closer and gave the broth a quick lap, yet it was good.

But, she realized, not good enough. She wanted something hot, yes, but she craved hot blood, fresh from a kill. She gave the broth a few more laps, and even managed to scoop up some of the cooked Tauros meat and some of the veggies floating around in the stew, although it didn't quite satisfy her craving. Should she leave? She could satiate her hunger then. But what if someone saw her? One instinct gave the solution to not get caught. Another said to not leave witnesses. Another alternative told her to stay put and wait out the night. She decided to stay for the time and finish off the food in the pot as she mulled over what she wanted to do, not wanting to waste it since she'd cooked it earlier. She found herself still hungry and not very satisfied with the cooked meat like she thought she would be. Her stomach flip flopped in on itself, demanding to be filled and she whined pitifully at the torn decision to stay and go. Finally she pushed back up to her feet, still feeling unsure of how well she could move when her thoughts—already becoming muddled and less sensible, unlike the way they were when she wasn't in her fur—came to a standstill.

A round object rolled around on the ground when her paw struck it, the shiny surface gleaming orange and red and yellow in the dying firelight. She dropped back down on all fours, sniffing at it carefully. She nudged it once with her nose, then again, then a third time, only harder. It rolled across the ground, bounced and swerved its path and bumped against her satchel. It remained still for a moment before it split in half. Blinding light leapt from its open maw and she let out a surprised bellow, teeth bared and black lips peeled back in warning as the light took shape and solidified. The dry musk of a reptile filled the air. The renewed scent mingled with its earlier predecessor. Blue scales gleamed in the fire, and yellow-red eyes stared around, long crooked snout gaping in a hiss. He paused at the sight of her and opened his mouth wider, hissed louder and a small, squeaking growl emanated from deep in his throat as he scuttled backward away from her.

Her lips pulled back down slightly, covering most of her teeth as she tilted her head to the side.

Totodile, she remembered. He seemed so much…smaller now. She reached out to bat a paw at him experimentally. He reacted instantly, snapping his jaws at her paw while his tail swerved in the air and smacked the ground as a counterbalance.

"K-keep away! I mean it!" He warned with another growl, giving the camp a once over when she didn't press forward. He froze at the sight of the torn clothing, the cast aside boots and uttered quietly, "Where is she?"

She cocked her head to the other side. Was that…fear she heard in his voice? Even if it wasn't, she could certainly smell it, and it was coming off of the pokémon in waves. Faintly, she felt the urge to nuzzle him, to comfort him, to tell him she was all right, just different. She was wolf. Not human. Could she speak if she tried? She resolved to keep silent after a moment's consideration. Her voice probably wouldn't sound the same even if she could. Instead, she turned away with a groan. He wouldn't understand. He wouldn't believe her, not until the morning when he saw her change shape. He could stay in camp for now. She was still hungry and sitting her on her rump wasn't going to fill her belly.

"Hey! Hey, get back here—what did you do to the girl I was with, where is she?"

Girl? She wasn't a girl. Girls were little and tiny and helpless. She was strong and big and ran when the moon was full, like it was tonight. She hunted on fleet paws and could crunch bones with her jaws. She wasn't just some girl, she was a werewolf.

Wait, where did she see that again? How did she know? It was turning fuzzy now, and the pull of the forest was strong. The urge to hunt was a temptation she couldn't resist much longer and she was still so very hungry. But for what, she had to decide and quickly; she was brimming with energy that demanded to be spent tracking, hunting, killing. She wanted hot blood to gush in her mouth and slide down her throat, to take into her jaws a heart still pumping and beating. She wanted to hunt and this little blue reptile's constant nattering was beginning to annoy her. Not enough to kill him, of course. He wouldn't make much of a meal, and he was…friend? Ally? It was starting to blur, but something rang in her head to not eat the little blue reptile on principle. And a reason that she couldn't quite recall at the moment, one that stayed her jaws. Someone would be mad if she did eat him and she couldn't quite figure their face out at the moment. She could remember a vague scent mark, however, that clung to his reptilian hide. A human male, she recalled, and that was all she could remember for the time being. She'd remember in the morning, she reasoned.

She turned her head to snarl a warning, but was met instead with icy water blasting in her face. It got in her nostrils, her mouth, choked her throat and she instinctively turned her head away, hacking and coughing, gushing air out of her nose as best she could. Her throat felt ragged and raw, painful to breath for a few seconds.

"Answer me! Where is the girl I was with, what did you do to her?"

She turned at the voice and opened her jaws to respond in kind and instead a guttural roar came pouring out. It shook the very air, rattled the bones and gave her a rush. Not to mention, it shut up the little blue reptile up quite impressively. He stared with those yellow-red eyes, flabbergasted and shaking, excreting a sudden assault of _fear angry scared_ from every scale on his body.

Why didn't he use that nose of his to sniff her out? Was he suddenly blind to her scent mark? He knew her, she was sure of this, but he was acting so blind right now. It was almost embarrassing.

They stared one another down for several long moments, her fur bristling and his back plates flaring, either out of fear or an attempt to look brave and big or maybe it was all of those. She saw his gaze sliding all over her form, untrusting and wary, before they settled on her snout. The tension in his body slowly eked out and recognition slowly filtered through. His jaws worked open and closed with soft _clacks_, but no words came forth.

She took that as a cue that he understood at last and could be left alone. She snorted at him, letting her own body to relax before turning on her heel to trot away on, first on all fours, before loping up on her back paws. She heard Totodile calling back for her, heard his last words entreating her to return, moments before his voice was lost to the music of the forest spread out before her. They barely registered, however, as she opened her jaws and let out a blood curdling howl, shaking the very trees to their roots.

Time to hunt.

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

The air at night wasn't entirely too cold for him, even when he was outside. Not during this season and area of Johto, it was quite balmy and comfy. He simply liked the warmth others provided because it was easier than always moving around and flopping about and getting comfortable and worrying about poking himself against a nest-mate's spikes and scales. It had been nice living at the professor's lab, especially. Chikorita and Cyndaquil were both warm sources and they always slept in a pile together, so he was never without comfort. Not that being out in the open was any more uncomfortable, but tonight…

Tonight, however, he felt chilled to his bones. Utterly terrified, and too frozen to move and attempt to keep the fire going. It had slowly died down to bleak embers and then to ash right before dawn, but he dared not move from his spot. Even when his stomach began to grumble with hunger pangs, he didn't dare move toward the overturned pot, where he could smell remnants of cooked food and it smelled so _good_ it made his mouth water in spite of himself. His mind kept reeling back to the moments before being recalled to his pokéball, of the woman he'd come to know for the past few weeks, to the monster that had replaced her when he was released. Or at least, the woman he assumed he had known. A stranger with a strange secret, and now he knew she hadn't been lying to him, like he had believed.

She'd changed. _Changed_ from a human shape to…to _something_ _else_. It was no pokémon he was familiar with, no creature he knew of. She may have recalled him, perhaps only moments before it had happened, but he knew it was her. She'd changed into something that seemed like a storybook monster that humans and pokémon alike told of to scare one another. Her scent was neither human nor pokémon, but perhaps a mix of both, and that was why it always smelled so odd. That was what he told himself since the beginning, when he'd seen what she was, there wasn't any way. This was different, this was something entirely else, something in its own league. She perhaps could have passed as a pokémon, but there was something else that just rang klaxons in his head, that told him otherwise. She had smelled roughly the same, except for a deeper animal aroma, more pronounced now that she was in her fur, but he hadn't wanted to believe it at first. After he'd seen the scar on that long snout, the very same that he had grown used to seeing on a human face, it was too hard to ignore the facts that it was _her_.

It was Lupin, but at the same time, it was not Lupin. She really was a monster in a human shape.

She had called herself a werewolf. A monster in human skin that changed on the full moon, or so she claimed from that book of hers, that journal she always had her nose buried in. It was the same one the professor had found on her when they'd dragged her out of the lake. She kept it on her at all times, read through it constantly whenever they had a chance to rest, always staring, reading, muttering to herself. She didn't think he noticed, but he did, he always did. He found it annoying at times. If she hadn't found anything about herself in it by now, she probably never would.

Yet she had treated everything in it like truth, however tentatively she believed in it, but he had scoffed and disregarded it, and even forgotten for the most part. He couldn't now, not with the evidence that had surely stood before him last night. She had been covered from head to toe in fur with a lupine face and…and scars. So many scars. Scars he had never seen before that covered her arms, her belly, her legs, her back…

He had only ever seen the one on her face.

But it had been _Lupin_, he had no doubts in his mind now. It was her, whether he liked it or not. Her form was different, but her scent…no, he couldn't have mistaken it even if he wanted to. And oh, he wanted nothing more than to forget the image burned into his mind. He had wanted to believe some strange pokémon had entered camp and flung her away, but after hearing her speak about the monsters in her book, it was hard to.

Scars and fur aside, she was huge. Not as large as his mother and father, mind, but still big compared to him and it reminded him just how small he was. Lean and tall, she was coated in thick fur and her eyes had glittered gold in the bright firelight, both wild and civilized, intelligent yet savage, and when she had roared, it scared him. Her sopping wet fur against the glimmer of white fangs peeking beneath black gums had him regretting spraying her in the face almost at once. Especially with the way the red in her fur had looked chillingly like blood, dark and dripping and foreboding.

But as soon as he calmed, so had she, and then she was gone, prancing off into the forest without a second glance back at him. Then that blood-curdling howl had ripped through the fleeting quiet interlude after her departure. It left the forest coldly silent, as though everything, including the wind, was holding its breath, waiting for the dark predator to move on. Even after that, the chorus of the woods refused to sing for the longest time. The howl had left him stiff and frozen to his spot, curled beside the fire, but even with it burning half the night, he was still cold. He dared not sleep, afraid she'd come back, forgetting who he was and deciding she wanted a midnight snack after all. His eyelids were drooping by the time dawn came rolling through. Sleepy and rosy-coloured, the sun peeped through fog and snippets of clouds that dotted the horizon. The forest, after Lupin's impromptu departure, had at last resumed its nightly chorus, although it seemed an eternity had passed before the first chirrups stirred the rest into gear. But now as the nocturnal insects were settling, the morning birds were chirruping away, completely at peace.

He shivered, suddenly wishing for the fire to be borne again and he moved for the first time in hours, staring forlornly at the ashes in the dugout pit. It was at these times he wished he was a fire pokémon. Not that he couldn't survive this temperature, but still…a fire was nice. He didn't have the paws to make it and neither the heart-fire. Humans—and Lupin, by extension, he supposed—had clever paws and were almost as quick to make it.

The Totodile stiffened again when he heard the uncoordinated scuffle of movement approaching, slowly but surely and he turned his head to view where it was coming from. At first, he considered it might be other trainers. Or poachers. Pokémon poachers tended to roam forests, collecting whatever they could get their hands on, whether they be wild or trained pokémon. Thieves. He hissed in warning, arching his back and preparing to dash for cover or perhaps ready a water gun attack or maybe even both.

But then the wind changed and he relaxed, surprised, not quite believing his nose before his eyes confirmed what he'd smelt. Lupin was ambling her way back, albeit in a plodding manner. Before long, she stumbled into the small clearing where she'd made camp last night. He hissed again, not sure whether or not he should run or stay. Instinct told him to stand his ground, it was his duty as a pokémon readying itself as a starter for a potential trainer, to stay and fight and train. But something else clamored for him to run to safety.

Now he understood why Chikorita and Cyndaquil feared her so much. She really was different.

She stumbled to her knees and sat there for a few belated seconds, not moving any further from her spot. She was naked, from head to toe, and no trace of her fur was to be found except for her tail and her ears. They all slumped low; ears pinned to her head in a listless fashion, her tail flat and unmoving on the ground. Lupin swayed, and he saw the exhaustion lining her face, but there was also a kind of glow to her, one that praised conclusion and succession of a sort.

He stared, still tottering on the line of stay or go, when her mismatched eyes finally drifted over him. She stared for a long time, as though not completely registering who he was or where she was for that matter before recognition finally kicked in. Her lips pursed and her brow furrowed and she looked away at the encampment, and she blinked very slowly before wordlessly standing on wobbly legs to scoot toward her pack.

"Morning," she finally muttered to him, the first word of greeting she offered as she laboriously began unpacking clean clothes from the confines of the satchel. She started to dress just as slowly, her energy waning and he immediately wondered just how was she going to make it to Cherrygrove in such a heinous condition. Her hair was a mess, her body was streaked with dirt and she looked ready to collapse.

He carefully waddled closer, afraid of making any sudden movements lest she leap at him with suddenly renewed vigor, and with her other face in place instead of the one he'd come to know.

"We should…be in a Cherrygrove in a few hours," she continued, although it seemed more for her benefit than his own as she said this, as though she was reminding herself aloud.

"Yes," he agreed. "If you can make it in a few hours."

"I can…just…tired. I might sleep when I get there. If that's okay?"

He stared for a moment longer, then dipped his snout in a single nod. "Yes. You can," he agreed once more. He paused, then said, "Do you…remember anything from last night?"

"The moon," she said wistfully and she paused in her movements, going still and quiet, while her eyes grew distant and cloudy with faint nostalgia. "So big and round and…calling me. Blood. I remember…blood. I could smell it. Taste it. Singing, there was…singing. The moon was singing and my blood sang back and I called…called out to it with my voice."

She grew quiet, her shoulders slowly falling and the shirt in her hand lay forgotten as she stared back out into the forest, like she was back there once again. Totodile stared, watching, in awe and wonder, wondering briefly what she had truly experienced and how it would feel to be a feral pokémon running as free as she seemed to have done last night. Then he remembered himself and shook all thoughts from his head. No, he was a trainer's pokémon, not some wild beast roaming the forest. He didn't want to know what it was like to sluice through a wild pokémon's river, to worry about when or where his next meal would be, or to wander the wild aimlessly about, stuck to just one territory. He wanted to roam beside a trainer in the backwoods, yes, but that was different. Traveling with a trainer meant going _everywhere_.

He stared at Lupin for a moment longer.

But not with this one, he decided.

Never again with this woman. After this, she was on her own, just the way she had originally wanted. He fleetingly wondered if it was too late to trek back to the professor's lab.

He shuffled forward, rising to his back legs and stooped to pick up her shirt, jerking it in the air.

"Here. C'mon. Dress yourself. We're wasting time."

The nostalgia in her eyes vanished in an instant and she looked back at him, as though for the first time.

"Morning," she greeted tiredly and he sighed.

It was going to be a long day, he could feel it in his scales.

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

**_Addendum:_ Dun dun dunnn! A werewolf was on the loose! Whatever shall people do! Well, technically two of them, but who's counting? :P And where in the world of ****Pokémon **is Alastor? One can only guess! 


	9. Chapter Eight: Recover

**Chapter Eight:  
Recover**

**_Disclaimer_: I do not own Pokémon in any way, shape, or form. The only "ownership" I can claim are the personalities and my interpretation of how Pokémon look in a more realistic light, but other than that...yeah, I don't own anything on them. XD I do, however, own my original characters and writings, unless otherwise stated. In an exceptional case, a few special OCs belong to their respective owners, I'm merely borrowing them for the story that's to unfold. I'll point them out when their time to show up comes. :3**

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

_Any kid will run any errand for you, if you ask at bedtime._**  
-Red Skelton**

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

The time left spent on the road to Mr. Pokémon's home dwindled to a hazy blur after the night of the full moon. Reserved and quiet, neither of them spoke much except for when necessary, and even then, there was the strain of civility. Neither of them wanted to speak of that night. Lupin mainly had a lack of understanding and wanted to mull over it, although she barely remembered it all. Or rather, it wasn't that she _didn't_ remember, it was simply easier to recall the memories by sensory rather than by visual memory alone. She could recall things easier if she focused on the taste, touch, smell, and sound of things more so than she could by the sight of it all alone. There was more to it than just the sights and sounds, there was the smells and touches, and the preternatural sixth sense that lingered beneath the surface, a sense that had lain dormant until the full moon deemed it necessary to awaken. If she remained only absorbed by the sight of it all, she might as well have blinded herself to everything else and it made for a dull retelling.

_Everything_ was important.

And Totodile, well…he found himself in the same apprehensive state that he had scoffed at the others for indulging in back at the lab. He had thought her amusing and intriguing to a point, interesting only for her scent alone. Now, however, he saw it more clearly with just how _otherworldly_ she was and it wasn't in an endearing sense either. He could only envision that other face superimposed over the one he saw daily: there was wildfire in those bright golden eyes that boasted of more intelligence and understanding than should be allowed. The irony made him want to scoff when he thought of the many intellectual pokémon with the same wild eyes he's seen come and go. He felt it was an unfair assessment to enforce on her shoulders, but he couldn't help it.

She was an anomaly that did not belong, a strangeness that he wanted to get away from and yet…

He looked at her now as they trudged the last leg of their journey toward their destination, their halfway point, and felt that nagging tug at his conscious again. She was alone. She was alone and unsure and she may be a grown woman, but she still looked so lost, like a child, even when she was trying not to actually look it. Yet he's seen the way she's stared at pokémon they have come across with eyes that had a bemused light in them, like she was seeing them for the first time in her life. It was the same light he had seen in them when she first laid eyes on him, Chikorita, and Cyndaquil—boggled and unsure of what to make of them all. No recognition, no familiarity, nothing.

He snorted as he waddled beside her.

_Tough luck,_ he reasoned, squashing any sympathy he had for her. When this job was over, and they were back at the lab, he would be picked by a trainer—a _licensed_ trainer—and he would travel with them, side-by-side, like he was meant to do. It was what he had been _bred_ to do. Being a lab pokémon was fine for a time, but he ached to fight, to battle, to rage against an opponent like his parents had once done in their primes, and their parents before them, and so on and so forth. He did not want to be left behind and waste his days being poked and prodded at for the rest of his life. The other two seemed content with that lifestyle, but not him. A water pokémon he may be, but he had a fire and a drive that the other two seemed to lack.

And looking back on her now, Lupin seemed content to sit and wait for her answers, to laze about the lab like that assistant of Professor Elm's. She had no drive to find answers, to chase them down until she caught them, except when they were seemingly sitting in front of her and within reach. She talks and talks and _talks_ about it, and broods even more, but he's heard only words and saw little action. If he were to ever be in her position, he would have scoured the world and over if he had ever been separated from his nest-mates or trainer, and he wouldn't have stopped until he found them. She spoke but did nothing. She thought on it, but she has yet to put plans—if she even had any—into action. It wouldn't surprise him if her nest-mates weren't even looking for her and were happily content to be indefinitely away from her.

Lazy mammals.

"Hey," she said, her words breaking through his thoughts like a shaft of light in the darkness, piercing and sudden in the quietness. He gave her a glance. He has stopped asking her for rides atop her shoulders and satchel since that night. "Is…is everything okay? You've been quiet for the last few days."

_No, everything is not fine. You really are a monster._

He was still having trouble accepting what he knew to be the truth. She had changed. Perhaps not right before his eyes, but the glaring evidence had been hard to ignore. That scar on her face, and the one on that snarling beast's snout had been one and the same.

"I'm fine. I just want to get this done and get back to the lab."

_Back where I can happily ignore you and you can ignore me like before, and you can brood in your room and I can wait for my real trainer to take me on our journey together. _

"Are you sure?"

So unsure, so worried, so…so unconvinced. So what? Her opinion hadn't mattered, not since day one and certainly not now. The only opinions he cared about, for now, were Professor Elm's and his soon-to-be-trainer's. Whoever they were and whenever they showed up, that is.

_I never should have gone with you. You didn't need me after all, you were right all along; you should have done this alone. You would have liked that, you wanted to take me back. I should have just let you._

"Yes."

She still looked skeptical, but she fell silent and didn't press the issue. He continued the unassuming façade he had maintained a majority of the trip, but this time without the smart quips like before. He could only see that other face every time he looked at her. He didn't want to do that anymore. It made his blood turn to ice and his heart quicken in apprehension. Every instinct rang klaxons in his skull, telling him to turn tail and head the other way with every whiff of her scent he caught.

_You never needed a mediator or a pokémon to fight or protect you. You never really needed any pokémon because you could have torn them apart with your teeth and claws. You really _can_ take care of yourself. I'll be glad if you leave before I do._

She grew quiet after a time, once more slipping back into her gloomy silence, thinking whatever thoughts that came across her mind. They were steeped in the silence of the afternoon as they drew closer to their destination. He was glad this was nearly over.

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

Graham "Mr. Pokémon" Wardson was an excited sort of fellow, if that could be allowed to be the shortest descriptor to label the man on sight. He was of average height and build, donning a sensible attire of khaki pants, button down blue shirt, and a trilby hat. As soon as he laid eyes on his visitor, he was grinning from ear to ear behind his neatly trimmed beard, a wide strip of teeth gleaming and puffed out a hearty laugh. He immediately ushered in Lupin and Totodile still beaming that wide smile at her, shaking her hand and clapping her shoulder and leading her inside with barely an introduction.

"I already know who you are; Professor Elm shot me an email a few days ago, saying you'd be by around this time! You're Lupin, his new junior assistant!"

She smiled, albeit nervously and a mite embarrassed, but nodded all the same, giving Totodile a sparing glance at her side. Mr. Pokémon led them through the threshold, a cozy den with plush couches and loveseats, and a few little desks and side tables sat in the squashed room. A silent, black-screened television was mounted on the wall above a fireplace, but her impression of the room was fleeting as he led her through an open doorway into another room. Totodile waddled after the two, glancing at the human household with all the interest he could muster, which wasn't very much. All he wanted to do was lay down and rest his tired paws. They were led to a small dining room, and the older man motioned toward a table sitting between a bookshelf crammed with books of all sizes, shapes, colours, and a glass-covered cabinet that housed various bits, bobbles, pieces and objects of interest and strangeness alike. Side tables were also similarly covered in odd knickknacks, mostly pokémon-themed paraphernalia, Lupin noticed. In fact, every available surface was sprawling with odd artifacts.

Moments after she took in the scenery of the room, she noticed that she wasn't the only guest that Mr. Pokémon had. Another man was there, sipping from a teacup, but at the blustering excitement Mr. Pokémon was exuding, he turned to see what all the fuss was about. Totodile snorted.

"Ah, I'm so sorry, where are my manners? This is Professor Oak. Professor Oak, this is Lupin, Professor Elm's new junior assistant down at the lab in New Bark Town. She's come to whisk away that little mystery I was telling you about earlier."

"Not much of a mystery if we already know what it is," the professor noted dryly with a faint smile. He stood, laying his teacup back on its saucer and crossed the room to meet them halfway, holding a hand out to Lupin. "It's good to meet you. I've heard a few things from Professor Elm about you. My condolences. I hope that you're able to find what you're looking for."

Awkwardly, Lupin shook his hand, feeling a little upset that her condition was being advertised beyond the people she already knew. She said nothing, however, and only nodded to the man, eyeing him studiously. He was tall, broad-shouldered, sporting a casual attire of loafers, khaki slacks and a collared shirt beneath a white lab coat. His hair was graying in most areas and his face, while kindly, had a series of hard lines etching across it. His skin was darkly tanned, suggesting he did as much outside work as he did inside. The hard lines were softened, however, by the smile he sported, and crow's feet formed to crinkle at the edges of his eyes, making them flash with mirth as he regarded her just as carefully. She felt a shiver when his eyes traced the scar on her face, but he said nothing about it, so she did the same.

"Thank you…Professor Oak, was it?"

_Tree names. Elm. Oak. Is this a theme? Is there a Birch in the family there, somewhere?_

The amusing thought passed along fairly quickly as she watched, from the corner of her eyes, Mr. Pokémon scuffle about before he exited the room completely, leaving her alone with the elderly gentleman. Dropping her hand and clearing her throat, she shouldered her pack into a more comfortable position. As though remembering himself, Professor Oak motioned to the table.

"You can sit and relax if you'd like, I'm sure you and your companion there would welcome the rest?" He smiled again, glancing down at the blue-scaled reptile. "Ah, a Totodile. Wonderful choice you made."

"Really wasn't mine," Lupin said, taking up his offer to rest her feet. Plopping into one of the empty chairs, she sighed, visibly relaxing and carefully dislodging the satchel from her shoulders. "I was…coerced into taking him. I didn't exactly have a team when…when they found me."

A perplexed and questioning expression lined the professor's face as he eyed her more critically now. Clearly, this information hadn't been made known to him. He regarded her carefully, as though trying to sense any visible sign of misgivings to her words.

"You wanted to journey here alone? You do realize how much more dangerous that is, don't you? While a lot of the pokémon that live along the trails and forests between here and New Bark Town are relatively low maintenance, there are more evolved, more dangerous pokémon that roam about as well." He looked appropriately worried and alarmed at her admission, and even more so at her rather unimpressed, unconcerned expression. She glanced at Totodile. He looked away.

"I can appreciate the sentiment, Professor Oak, but the most I ran into were some Gastly and Haunter in the…haunted forest. Other than that, the trip here was pretty uneventful."

"You didn't run into any challenging trainers on the road?" His eyebrows raised slightly, an incredulous expression painting his face. His tone was just as surprised, and his face morphed into further concern when she merely shrugged.

"We saw them in town," was all she said and before he could press forward, curious now at how she managed to accomplish that, Mr. Pokémon was bustling back in, folds of cloth bundled in his arms. He was already unwrapping the contents, drawing Professor Oak's attention off the woman and back on the reason she was here: the pokémon egg. Even Totodile sat up, his interest piqued. He sniffed the air hungrily, but stayed himself, remembering he wasn't some scavenging wild pokémon and that he could do just as well with a bowl of packaged food—if the old man had any, that is. He smelled a Meowth somewhere around here, but the feline was nowhere to be seen.

Setting the bundle carefully on the table, Lupin leaned in, and the last piece of clothe was peeled away to reveal the egg she had seen in Professor Elm's email a week ago. The pristine white eggshell was only interrupted by the irregular spots of triangular designs of bright red and cheerful blue. It was rather breathtaking up close and personal and she raised a hand, gingerly and unsure, before she was given the okay by Mr. Pokémon's nod to touch. It was warm and comforting, and she swore she felt something shift inside, the sign of a living being growing inside. A breath escaped her and she smiled.

"I-It's alive."

"Yes, it is. It's just so sad that it was abandoned."

That was a bit of a joy killer. Lupin's expression died down a bit and she stared at him, somewhat stunned. "Abandoned?"

He nodded slowly with a melancholy tracing his weathered face. "I'm personal friends with some breeders outside of Goldenrod City. They hadn't had any Togepi, Togetic, or Togekiss trainers stop by their establishment for a long time, if ever, in fact. And yet, one day, they check the yard and there it was. The egg was sitting in the morning sunlight, alone and undisturbed." Mr. Pokemon paused. "This sometimes happens. Eggs appear at breeders' places, random and erratically. We don't know why. Maybe the parents are unfit and they recognize it and see a viable survival option with humans. Maybe they're dying and can't raise their young or won't be around long enough to see them hatch and no others of their kind to help. Whatever the reason, this event tends to happen. Pokémon eggs appear, and breeders or daycare owners or whoever else has found them take over. But I managed to wheedle my way to having this little one wind up into my possession, charm and wit aside."

He winked and reached to give the egg a brief, fond pat on the shell. "Professor Elm, I knew, would be very excited to have this as a part of his research, but his recent trip out of Johto prevented an immediate pickup. That's where you came in, and I'm glad you were able to make it here." She nodded, not sure how else to respond to that, and studied the egg once more. It really was pretty, if a little odd looking. It was almost endearing, actually, once she was used to the peculiarity. Totodile sniffed from the ground, peeping quietly, curiously.

"Yes, I'm actually quite jealous. If I had known sooner, I would have petitioned for the egg myself, but as much as I'd like to study it, Professor Elm has already laid a claim to it," Professor Oak said with a chuckle. "And I also have a few things on my plate that would make it nearly impossible to make time for hatching a pokémon egg and then studying its hatchling at this point in time. I'm sure I'll be seeing plenty of things regarding it once it's hatched, though."

"Right, well…I should probably head out then, if he wants it that badly." She eyed her bag, stooping to pick it up, then paused when she noticed Totodile, the way he slumped on the ground and looked so haggard. She would admit, she felt a twinge of pity for him. The past few days steeped in the unusual and strained silence told her that he most definitely was not okay. She could smell the faint aroma of fear that wafted off of him from time to time, and the interest and curiosity that had once glittered in his yellow-red eyes was now replaced with suspicion and mistrust aimed solely at her. He was rather disciplined in keeping it locked up tight and not uttering a peep of his concerns, that much else she would admire. But his scent gave away his deeply hidden terror. She felt guilt worm its way into her core and she avoided his eyes, straightening empty-handed.

"I…think we should rest first, though, if that's all right? Just for an hour or so, before we go."

She sensed rather than saw movement below her and caught a peek of blue creeping in closer out the corner of her eye, but she didn't look down at Totodile again. Mr. Pokémon grinned and nodded amicably, carefully wrapping the egg back up, for protection or warmth or both, before carefully handing it to her. She cradled the object and stooped once more, this time to pack her bag with the new object, mindful of its fragility as she further compacted soft things around it as a barrier.

"Of course! You and your pokémon can rest up! I was about to suggest the very same! I can get you anything you like, if you want. Tea, lunch, a nap, whatever you need."

"Coffee," Lupin agreed, tucking the bag under a chair and giving it a pat before standing again. She resisted the urge to correct Mr. Pokémon about Totodile. It was simpler if she didn't bother with the explanation. "If you don't mind. And some food and water for him."

The older man bobbed his head, and turned on his heel, ambling out of the room with a jovial step, leaving her alone once again with Professor Oak. He motioned toward the table and she nodded, settling in an empty chair while he took his previous seat.

"So…you're an associate of Professor Elm, then? Where is that you live?"

"Kanto. The region just over the mountains to the east. Pallet Town is where I've had my lab established and it's where I've been for plenty of years." Professor Oak paused, studying her face, as though he was trying to recall whether he'd seen her before or not. The scrutiny left Lupin feeling a little unnerved, but it passed when he smiled, his expression softening. "Perhaps when you have the time or when you decide to leave the lab in New Bark Town, you could pop over to Kanto and see our sights. There are plenty of them. And I'm sure your Totodile would enjoy it as well."

Once again, she had to swallow back down her reflex to deny that he was hers, that she didn't have any pokémon, that she didn't want any. She said as much that he wasn't already earlier, hadn't she? Instead, she smiled, although it felt more like a grimace to her. Totodile had ambled closer to the professor when she wasn't looking, she suddenly noticed. A silent protest and a protective barrier, she realized. He stared back at her with cold reptilian eyes, unblinking, unwavering. She couldn't read his expression, and that may very well pertain to his lacking many facial muscles to do so, but even if he had, she doubted he'd let her in on his thoughts. He wanted her to know he was upset without saying it and was going to the closest authority figure in the threshold. She looked away and from the corner of her eye, saw him do the same.

"Right. Maybe. I still haven't really decided what I really want to do. I don't even know if anyone is looking for me or missing me yet. Nobody's put in a missing person's notice quite yet, according to the police, and I don't even know where I came from." Her ears pinned a little tighter against her skull beneath her hat, her hands curling in uncertainty and with the urge to fidget, to tinker, to do something other than just sit there idly. The names of other countries sounded strange and felt even stranger on the tongue: Unova, Sinnoh, Hoenn. And those were just a few she could remember. Did she come from any one of them? If so, she was a long way from home.

She felt eyes on her, and it was unnerving at first. She wanted to snap, but courtesy won over personal twitchiness and she kept her gaze locked on a knot of wood before her, eyes going over the grain, twist and spiral of the darker patterns. She felt eyes on her, and at first, didn't want to acknowledge them. She nearly jumped when another hand appeared and dropped on top of hers on the tabletop, giving them a warm squeeze before retreating. It was a brief contact and the warmth of the hand from moments before was fading already, her skin prickling in response, a reminder that the moment had indeed just occurred.

"Perhaps instead of sitting around, waiting for answers to come to you, you should go out looking for them. The world may be big, but chances are that you might run into someone who knows who you are, someone who can help you. I'm not saying you should just up and run for the hills, it's just some friendly advice. Stagnating in one spot might not benefit you, but then again, maybe it would. In the end, it'll be up to you on what you want done."

She stared at him in astonishment, too stunned to say anything in return at first. Her words continued to go left unsaid as Mr. Pokémon came bustling back inside, helping set up the table with several bowls on a tray filled with a delicious smelling chowder, a mug of coffee for Lupin, and some more tea for himself and Professor Oak. Then he left again, returning seconds later with Totodile's dishes.

"You actually came just in time for lunch! Now, why don't we all just relax for a little, before anyone has to go and hit the road again, huh?" He gave a booming laugh, settling in a third empty seat. The setting was surreal to Lupin, as though she had suddenly become an onlooker. It was too normal a setting after being on the road for a week. It felt…normal. It was a nice sentiment to hold on to, even if it was only temporary. She wanted to hold onto that feeling, even if it was in the company of strangers she had only just met, hold onto it and not let go and make the precious few seconds count. Maybe she had this before, and letting herself soak in a similar setting would help.

As the minutes ticked by, and noon waned away, she began to slowly realize that probably wasn't going to happen. No magical fanfare interrupted her idle thoughts, no sudden epiphany struck her down, no flood of memories broke whatever dam was holding them back. She was still the same blank slate with only an airy feeling in her chest, trying to rush a recovery she had no clue how to ease into to begin with.

The departure of Professor Oak was the only interruption to her internal dilemma, breaking the mantra up and helping ease her away from the pitfall of disappointment. They gathered in the small den by the front door, exchanging good byes with one another. When he turned to Lupin, he held his hand out and she grasped it and noted with some surprise he had a very strong grip. He gave it a hard squeeze, watching her carefully.

"Just remember what I told you earlier. You can choose to do nothing or choose to do something about your predicament. It's all up to you," he said, his face quiet and unreadable for a few long moments. Then the seriousness fell away when he gave her that kindly smile again and released his hold on her, turning to the open doorway. Professor Oak dipped a hand in his pocket and with the flick of a wrist, whipped out a miniaturized pokéball settled between his fingertips. "And take care of that Totodile of yours."

The ball doubled in size at the press of a button and it split open, a surge of light springing forward and coalescing into solid shape. Gargantuan wings shot open, a craning neck settled into an S-shaped crook, a body rippling of power and muscle hunched forward. A tail snaked around, its tip burning brighter than campfire. A dusky-orange dragon with a creamy, armored underbelly towered over the professor, regarding its trainer first with narrowed eyes, before turning its gaze on her and Mr. Pokémon. A deep rumble echoed from its broad chest, making Lupin's tail bristle under her coat. Professor Oak patted the dragon on its neck.

"Oh, Champ, you overgrown lizard, stand down," the professor _tut_'ed at the monstrous creature. Immediately, the dragon quieted, although the suspicion-riddled eyes didn't lessen their intensity. She heard a soft peeping gasp at her side and Lupin glanced over to see Totodile sitting beside her, staring at the dragon in awe.

"A _Charizard_…Arceus above, he's _huge_."

The Charizard lowered its shoulders and neck just enough to allow the older man to mount a thing yet sturdy-looking leather saddle she hadn't noticed before lifting back up. Professor Oak gave Mr. Pokémon and herself another farewell wave, before patting the dragon's neck.

"All right, then, on to Goldenrod, Champ," the professor called.

"I'll look forward to yours and Mary's next show!"

Mr. Pokémon laughed and waved as the dragon shot into the sky, wind buffeting those below. Lupin hurriedly rushed a hand up to keep her hat from flying off, eyes never leaving the huge creature as it lifted with ease that belied its bulk into the air. In no time at all, the dragon was a speck in the clear blue sky and then gone altogether, a bone-chilling roar left in its wake as it left.

She would admit, she was rather impressed at the display. She hadn't seen any pokémon that big before. Mr. Pokémon chuckled beside her, as though reading her thoughts and he clapped her on the shoulder.

"He likes to show off his trophy pokémon whenever he gets the chance, the prick. Guess it's the advantages of being a world-renowned pokémon professor. And Champ is just as famous, having been one of his championship showcase teammates back when he took on the championship when he was younger."

"Championship?" Lupin echoed.

"The Pokemon League," Totodile provided from below. "Wait. He used to be younger?"

"The Indigo Plateau," Mr. Pokémon nodded, having not heard Totodile's smartass remark. There was a reverent gleam in the older man's eyes now. "The Pokemon League, in short, is the ultimate goal of many trainers between here in Johto and over in Kanto. Other regions have their own championships and Pokémon Leagues, but the cream of the crop, in my opinion, will always be here at the Indigo Plateau. And I've traveled all over the world." The older man grinned, waving a hand. "But it's not for everyone and not everyone is cut out for it."

He allowed a notable pause to pass between them, a comfortable silence to ease from the subject. He took the momentary reprieve to check the time on his watch and he sighed. "I suppose you should get going so you can get closer to Catallia City. You won't make it until tomorrow, sadly, but at least you'll be halfway there. Thank you again for coming all the way out here."

"Thank you for the hospitality," Lupin returned. She already had her pack, having sensed that her time here was coming to a close and wanting it on hand for a quick departure. Mr. Pokémon nodded, still giving her that friendly smile of his.

"If you're ever up in the area, stop by if you'd like. I enjoy the company and I have an open door policy to traveling trainers whenever they need a rest stop before hitting the homestretch to Violet City."

She gave a placating nod once again, shifting her pack more comfortably onto her shoulders, while Totodile huffed at her side. Lupin thanked him again, shook his hand and turned on her heel to head back to the main road.

_Homestretch_, she thought with a relief. A heavy weight that had been settling in the pit of her chest, an apprehension that soured her stomach, dissipated at the sagging new weight in her pack. She was halfway complete, and soon, this little errand would be over in a few days. Her idle thoughts returned as her feet carried on a monotonous path down the road. Soon, the apprehension she thought she'd been rid of was back tenfold within the hour, a different bitter taste coating the back of her throat. The professor's small words, while humble, left an impact on her thoughts. She did have a choice in whether her situation could improve or not. She could sit and fester, and hope answers came her way. Or, alternatively, she could go out in search of answers, go search for the place or people she was missing from. And, as much as it was annoying to admit, Totodile's words echoed back to her as well from days before.

It ate at her for the rest of the afternoon and she mulled over the choices, but it slowly began to dawn on her that there wasn't really much of a choice. Sitting on her ass was the lazy, roundabout way to get answers, and it was barely that. To go out and broaden her search—that would probably be more beneficial.

Not to mention, it felt more comforting to be out on the road than stuck in a lab. She felt less at home there, confined and under constant watch. While she wouldn't say she felt more so traveling, it gave her a better grasp on her own decisions, instead of feeling helpless, hopeless, a child with no understanding, and constantly looked at with pity and sympathy. She couldn't fault the two back at the lab for their reactions, but it left her sizzling under the scrutiny.

She needed out. And after she returned, she would look into plotting a next plan of action to get her back onto the road again.

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

**Note: Slow chapter, but look! A pokémon egg and Professor Oak! Shiny distractions! *points and flees***


	10. Chapter Nine: Help

**Chapter Nine:  
Help**

_**Disclaimer**_**: I do not own Pokémon in any way, shape, or form. The only "ownership" I can claim are the personalities and my interpretation of how Pokémon look in a more realistic light, but other than that...yeah, I don't own anything on them. XD I do, however, own my original characters and writings, unless otherwise stated. In an exceptional case, a few special OCs belong to their respective owners, I'm merely borrowing them for the story that's to unfold. I'll point them out when their time to show up comes. :3**

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

_It is not enough to help the feeble up, but to support him after._  
**-William Shakespeare**

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

By the time they'd left Mr. Pokémon's and traveled back down the road headed toward Catallia City, storm clouds were gathering in up on the horizon. They rose above the tree line, creeping along to overtake the cheerful blue sky with a foreboding darkness. It turned gloomy in a hurry, and the wet scent and moist touch of the air foretold of a good set of showers to be coming their way. The balmy temperature slowly began to descend. And yet, despite Totodile's complaints about the cold, he seemed empowered by the impending downpour. His tired demeanor began to pick up in energy, evidenced by his pace becoming less sluggish and more locomotive.

When Lupin finally called it to pitch camp, he was more amicable, but still as quiet as ever. She was glad that she bought the tent she had been carrying, even if it hadn't been necessary until now to use. Lugging it around had begun to feel like she'd bought it for nothing. It was a one-man tent, just enough for herself, her gear, and her sleeping bag all in a snug space. She went through the surprisingly easy setup fairly quickly, putting the poles through designated slots and then settling it on higher ground, well away from dips and furrows that may become mini-lakes of puddles. Just as she finished tucking everything into the safety of the erected tent, the rain began to unexpectedly pour in earnest. She was half soaked within the first few seconds before she ducked inside with a startled yelp, her tail puffing up beneath her coat. Totodile, however, seemed quite happy at the downpour and looked quite at home.

_Of course,_ Lupin thought. _He's a water-type. Why wouldn't he? He thrives in this kind of environment. _

He waddled through the mud not far from Lupin's tent and the rain just sluiced it right off and then he'd shuffle through it again, and the rain would wash it off all over. The never ending cycle didn't seem to bother him. He even settled down at last in a growing puddle, letting the mud and the rain pile up around him while Lupin, watching from the see-through netting as she changed clothes and then dug into a travel-ready meal, quietly wishing the rain could have waited until after she'd had a fire set to give her something warm to eat.

_At least we had something before this, _she thought morosely. She played with her spoon through the dregs of the packaged travel-ready meal. In all honesty, she was still hungry, even after three bowls of the chowder from earlier today. She absently wondered just how much she actually could eat while she finished off her cold meal and guzzled down some fresh water. Eyeing her pack, she peeked at some of the travel-ready pokémon chow, and yanked it out before calling to Totodile for food. He was ignoring her, however, and it took until after she'd poured him some in a dish that she'd noticed this.

"Hey! Food! You know, stuff you eat to gain energy from!"

He didn't answer, continuing to wallow happily away in his muddy water. She sighed. Fine, then, he could stay out there. That was all right with her. She didn't want him dirtying everything up if he felt inclined to come crawling back over this way anyway. She tossed the food back in the bag and then everything else in her satchel before bedding down for the night. The heat was welcome in the sleeping bag and it lulled her for some time in a half-way stage between waking and sleep, while her hands absently picked at the charm and dog tags around her neck.

Her fingers played the most along the dog tags, along the bumps and dips of the engraved letters and numbers, as though trying to decipher some hidden message between their lines.

_Next thing you know, I'll try looking for people's faces in pieces of toast_, she thought sleepily.

Ha. Right, sure, then she'd find out right afterwards that she really _was_ some weird sort of pokémon/human hybrid. The thought made her smile in spite of herself as she curled up and closed her eyes, drifting off to what she hoped would a peaceful sleep.

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

Of course, peace-by-sleep didn't come. It rarely did these days. Typical.

She was curled inside her sleeping bag, groggily wondering what it had been that had woken her up this time. Her usual tantrum-by-night-terror wakeup call wasn't apparent. She wasn't covered in a sheen of sweat, her heart wasn't jackhammering away in her chest, the blood wasn't rushing like a roaring current through her ears. The patter of rain that had hammered at the canopy of her tent when she had fallen asleep was now absent. She noticed that change right away. It must have stopped raining, she realized, and it was a shame. The white noise had been soothing to listen to, and she could just imagine it all over again. That thought alone nearly lulled her back to sleep, when a piercing squeal cut through relative stillness and she jolted upright. It came again, and then a third time. She was already scrambling up and ripping the zipper to the tent's entrance, ducking her head into the cool night air. She barely felt the chill of the air as her eyes hurriedly searched the campgrounds. Her eyes adjusted quickly to the darkness, and the mounting suspicion that something was very wrong continued to fester in the pit of her stomach.

Then she spotted the clods of earth and mud being uprooted just beyond the tree line. Lumps of dark, multi-legged blobs were lobbed into the air, screeches and hisses galore providing a soundtrack to the otherwise eerie stillness of the night. She pushed to her feet and hurried toward the fracas, her heart jumping to her throat and throbbing painfully away when she realized she didn't know where Totodile was.

_That little menace, he'd better not be picking fights again! _

She'd had to drag him away from impending battles in Cherrygrove and other little towns every time they'd passed through, and she knew he resented her for tiptoeing away. She even managed to avoid other trainers by either bypassing or circumnavigating them altogether. He always seemed to be raring for a go at some unsuspecting trainer and their pokémon, and it only seemed to increase the longer they were traveling together. With the exception of the ghost-types in the haunted forest, he also seemed keen on attacking wild pokémon and if Lupin didn't keep an eye on him or planted on her shoulder to ride upon it, he'd waddle off in search of them.

"I was bred for battle, it's in my blood. I was sent to the lab for studies, but in the end, I'm meant to be with a trainer to travel with," he'd told her once when she had asked. For a cold-blooded reptile, he certainly spoke more like a hot-blooded creature, and he had the energy of one as well, despite his protests of cold and sluggishness.

_And the one night I leave him alone, he goes looking. Dammit all. _

Yet, even with the strangeness of it all was that for the past several days, he had been quite subdued and withdrawn, unwilling to look her in the eye for very long like he's done before. She knew something was wrong and she _knew_ it was because of her. He was afraid of her. Ever since the night of the full moon, he'd been afraid of her. The stench of fear, discomfort, and nervousness clung to him and while he'd continued his charade of acting fine yet quiet didn't quite work. He was biding his time, waiting to get back, waiting to get away from her. Trundling off to fight pokémon might have been a coping mechanism, something to fall back on. He expressed his interest in wanting to battle with earnestness, emphasizing that he was only a temporary lab pokémon until Professor Elm presented him to an aspiring trainer needing a starter. He wanted out, and his one chance to see things and get a feel for them, and she had, in a way, ruined it to a point. She'd soiled his experience, tarnished it.

She scowled, although it was half-hearted, as she squelched bare feet through muddy terrain and pushing past the tangled weavings of the underbrush. She couldn't find it in her to be quite as angry at Totodile anymore. Something came sailing out into the air from between the trees. She ducked when a mud clod came sailing her way, ears pinned to her skull, tail puffed up in surprise. Her attention was drawn to the source, and the first thing she found was the blue reptile. The second note of interest that caught her eye was the ground and how it simply writhed and squirmed and scuttled along over and under itself. It took a few moments to fully register the menagerie of pokémon that had too many legs, bulbous bodies, the way they sprawled not only land, but also up in the trees and how some were even hanging in midair…

_Spiders_, her head supplied suddenly in recognition. _Spider pokémon._ She felt a chill roll down her spine, creeping along at a slow, mind-numbing pace when she finally observed that there was a white noise reverberating in the air, thrumming the stillness in a monotonous cycle. Then the white noise grew in clarification and she heard the chant wrapped in the proverbial din.

"Meat, meat, meat, meat!"

It was a mantra for blood, and it was only then that she was really seeing what was happening: Totodile encircled by the spindly-legged creatures, his scales glistening not with water but with webbing and it was hindering his movements. He snapped at an acid-green and black spider as it encroached closer on the trapped reptile. In response, the spider threw up its abdomen and hissed back. Totodile squealed and curled against the ground with a fearful look in his yellow-red eyes, mouth gaping in an attempt to scare right back. His legs were tangled, his tail flopped uselessly behind him and his skull was barely visible.

"Meat, meat, meat!"

The chanting continued, the spiders whispering away with glee as they pressed closer. One spat a gob of webbing at the still-struggling reptile and the piercing scream at being trapped escaped Totodile's throat. That was what she had heard when she awoke: the moans of an ensnared animal, instinct butting in over logic, and a primordial fear taking over. Lupin was moving quicker than her mind was working. She snapped a low-hanging branch off from a tree, the wood creaking in protest as she did so before she stepped forward with care. The closest little body she encountered was barely two feet away from where she'd been standing. It saw her too late and was already sailing into the air with a protesting scream when she struck. The chanting halted after she hit her third and fourth spider, sending them sailing into the darkness to strike a tree, a bush, the ground. Their legs flailed wildly as some spun about and landed on their backs. The rest of the nest turned to face the new threat, all at once ignoring the thrashing, wailing Totodile still caught in the sticky web.

Ominous black eyes stared at her from all highs and lows, their mandibles moving independently of one another as they regarded the werewolf. That dreading chill wormed its way into her spine again, while her stomach slithered lower into her abdomen until it dropped away completely.

Then, "Meat."

"Meat, meat." Another chimed in.

"Meat, meat, meat." Two added in unison.

Soon, the whole nest was chanting once again in unison. Lupin's tail puffed up in alarm as some of those she had knocked away were rolling over onto their legs or were getting assistance from others. Totodile quaked, his jaws clacking open and closed, hisses drawing out from between, but the noise was nearly drowned out by the din from the spider pokémon. Lupin rapidly tried to remember what they were, yet the name kept escaping her. They were small, but they had numbers, she knew. Numbers could mean a lot. Numbers could turn favor in a fight.

Then she saw another shape moving, creeping along in the shadows of the tree top branches above. It was moving slowly but steadily, and it was considerably larger than the littler green and black bodies shuffling closer to her. She smacked the branch at several that were encroaching too close to her personal space, distracted. They screeched in pain as they went sailing. Her eyes were off the larger shadow for a brief second, but it was enough. The revealed creature was another spider, but this was much larger, as she suspected. Its colours were muted, but reminiscent to something she'd label as poisonous: soft maroon and banded with dusky purple and muddy yellow. Its legs were longer and thinner like sabers, and decidedly more deadly-looking compared to the fatter legs of the smaller spiders, as was the intimidating horn that decorated the helm of its head. The littler ones had stubbier horns, but she doubted either of them was any less effective in an attack if utilized.

It crawled along the trunk of an especially large oak tree, its girth bobbing along as it settled on the ground. It was nearly as tall as she was, and she wasn't very tall to begin with. It regarded her with the same black eyes as its smaller counterparts, its mandibles tipped with lethal fangs rubbing over one another like hands rubbing together. The presence of the larger spider, however, had stilled the smaller ones and they stopped stalking closer to her. The nest and its newly arrived larger patron were still between her and the still-struggling Totodile, however.

"Intruder," the larger spider announced; its voice light and feminine. The little green ones mimicked her, echoing the word in a chilling whisper that overlapped one another. The spider advanced a step. It was unperturbed by the brandished makeshift weapon in Lupin's hand.

Lupin spared a quick glance at Totodile. Their eyes met for the briefest second. She could see he was terrified and she could taste and smell the fear stink as well, it was so strong, so potent. In that instant, it made her afraid. For all the bravado and know-it-all air he sported, he was still so young, putting up a brusque front. He may annoy her at times, exasperate her at others, but she had stuck it out this long with the little reptile and in return, he tolerated her. She sure as hell wasn't going to let him get done in by some overgrown arachnids. In a small way, she felt somewhat attached to the little bugger, vices and all. They were starting to become endearing, even. She was surprised by it when it struck her in that second, but she had to force the shock of it all to be put to the side. Now wasn't the time.

She aimed the branch she was using as a makeshift bat at the female spider, who she was now assuming was the queen of the nest before her.

"Let me get the little guy, and nobody gets hurt," she barked out, loud and clear so she couldn't be misunderstood. The whispers had continued, even in the thrall of the queen's arrival, although when the large female stirred at last, everything fell to an eerie hush. She advanced another step with a slender striped limb. She kept her dark gaze pinned on Lupin, unblinking and unwavering. It was unnerving and she felt another chill jolt down her backside like lightning.

"Intruder," the spider announced again. The littler ones echoed her, as though in a trance. They took a step forward, the first bout of real movement since the queen's arrival. They chattered incessantly in that whispery tone and it resonated into the darkness. Lupin bared her teeth in warning and tightened her grip on the branch. White-hot indignation grew in her chest and spread out to her limbs, heating her from the coldness that had enveloped her since she first laid eyes on the multi-limbed creatures. It gave her a much-needed kick start and she advanced herself, stomping a bare foot hard on the squishy earth. It had a much desired effect of startling some of the closer spider pokémon into retreating several steps. The rest stopped altogether. The maroon queen hissed.

"Intruder!"

"I get it! I'm on your land! And I'm so _very_ sorry, so we'll pack up and leave! Just let me get him and we'll be out of here in a jiffy!"

"Meat," the queen spat back. "Meat for my children. Cannot let you go. Must feed my children."

Lupin, for the briefest interlude, felt the cold rushing back in, overwhelming the heat that had encouraged her seconds before and it froze her to her spot. It didn't take a genius to figure out the queen's meaning. She darted her gaze around to the little beady black eyes that were locked onto her. They chattered away, their mandibles moving in a frenzy around their mouths, the whispered ghostly word of '_meat'_ echoing in the air. Lupin snarled again and brandished the branch. She swatted at two of the green spiders, and was about to swipe at another when the branch was suddenly yanked from her hands. She threw her head back to see some of the creepy crawlers had snuck up into the branches above and were dangling the branch by tendrils of webbing.

Something struck her arm and her chest simultaneously, something sticky and wet. She looked to see the same silvery-white threads that had trapped Totodile were now covering her. Another tendril spat at her legs and feet, then with a hard yank, she was sent sprawling out on her backside, her head suddenly throbbing with a dull ache from impact. Probing little digits began to poke at her body, and she felt the sticky tendrils pinning her down, her legs first and then her arms. A hideous pair of mandibles presented itself in her face, and she gagged at creature. Black eyes stared down, emotionless and cold, while tiny fangs tipping the mandibles speared forward, inches away from Lupin's face.

These little monsters! Is this what they did to unsuspecting trainers that traveled through this area? Did they attack unknowing trainers and their pokémon and drag them off into the night, never to be heard of or seen again? Fear blossomed in her suddenly.

_I'll never find out who I am. And whoever might be missing me, they might never know I—_

She stopped short of that thought, refusing to finish it. No. No, no, _no_. She was _not_ going to end up as bug food. She wasn't going to go quietly into the night; she wasn't going to go out in such a lame and piteous way. And she sure as hell wasn't going to allow Totodile to die this way either. If anything, he would rather it be by tooth and claw, face to face and in battle, not in some predator's nest, bound and gagged and sipped up like soup.

She wasn't going to let that happen, she _couldn't_.

_And that egg—it'll never hatch at the lab like it's supposed to, I can't let it die out here, either._

A low rumble built up in her chest, building until it became an almighty bellow that startled several of the crawling bodies on top of her. Some of them leapt away in the midst of shock, letting out a pitiful squeal of fear as it did. They hadn't covered her face yet, and the red-hot fire in her chest began to grow anew, spreading out to her limbs again, this time all the way through. The maroon queen came scuttling over to pin Lupin down one with one of her spindly-tipped limbs. Despite their thin appearance, they were incredibly strong. The werewolf was right in her assumptions; it was as deadly as it looked. She could feel its tip piercing through the webbing and her clothing, stabbing down to her flesh, but only just. Lupin grunted, pushing the pain aside as a minor annoyance when the queen loomed over her face, her mandibles working in that fidgety manner of theirs.

"Meat for my children, yes. Not much meat, but meat for my babies to feast off of."

"Feast! Feast! Yes, feast! Feast!"

The fire was crawling up her throat and it tickled, almost like a cough at the back of her throat, but warmer and more pleasant to endure. Lupin glared at the black gaze staring down at her, trying not to gag on the breath that wafted out of the spider's mouth.

"Hate to disappoint you, but I ain't lettin' that happen, you bitch."

Heat drifted over her like a veil, settling into her bones like an old acquaintance. It was a strange sensation, and yet, it felt familiar and alien all at the same time. The spider queen hissed, jerking her skull back and forth in alarm, removing the appendage that had been pinning Lupin down. The webbing that had confined her suddenly felt looser. She experimented just how loose by ripping her leg out of its bonds and smashing it into the side of the spider's abdomen. The little green ones squealed and scrambled away as an abrupt flare of light flashed into being.

Sparks danced into the air, flames flicking to life, even if only briefly. The spider queen wailed, having been thrown to her side. Her legs twitched in the air, jerking spasmodically to right her bulbous girth. Lupin rolled to her side and pushed up to her feet, glad to be back upright and not down and at the mercy of the creepy little creatures. The webbing that had bound her moments before was burning away and the smell of acrid smoke filled her lungs, tinging the air with its harsh fragrance.

"What tricks, what tricks? What manner of pokémon are you? Not human, not trainer, no. Fire-type? Fire kills!" She hissed again, but Lupin could sense the fear now, could see it reflected in her eyes and off her shiny carapace. Lupin paused at that. Reflection. Light. It was too bright to be moonlight, too dense in this part of the forest. No, this was more like…

She looked down, as though fully aware of what was going on for the first time.

And she stared.

Flames licked at her hands, but her flesh didn't curl and blister and blacken like she had expected them to. It tickled at her skin, pleasant and heartening, and a sense of coziness washed over her as she stared into the flames, watched the tendrils dance and twirl. She flexed her fingers experimentally and found them to be completely fine and not stiff from pain.

Fire…she could create fire? Out of thin air?

_Well, I just keep getting weirder and weirder now, don't I? At least I can save money on matches and lighter fluid now._

Her gaze settled back on the spider queen, who was now upright upon her spindly limbs, although her pitch-black eyes were no more. They were purple, dusky and muted like the rest of her, and those eyes were staring at the flames that licked at the werewolf's hands with intense hatred. She bared her fangs at Lupin and hissed in fear and resentment. The horde of green spider pokémon had the good sense to flee while they could, leaving their queen and matron behind. She stood between her and Totodile, who was still bound by webbing on the ground, immobile and unable to escape. Lupin snarled and advanced, menacing in every step and weaving her arms back and forth. The spider hissed and stood her ground for as long as she could, unwilling to abandon even the tiniest scrap of prey before instinct won out.

She scuttled away from the licking flames with a screech, brandishing her fangs in a failed attempt to scare Lupin.

"Out! Out! Put it out! Fire burns! Destroys! Kills!"

"Damned straight it does," Lupin muttered darkly, herding the spider queen away from the prone form on the ground. She jerked her hands out, as though to swipe at the spider. Flames shot out at the motion, extending her reach. It rushed forward and licked the arachnid's exoskeleton. She screamed and scurried away from the heat and light, disappearing into the cover of cool darkness. Her howls could still be heard, but they were retreating and fading away quickly. Soon there was no more of them, but Lupin growled all the same, every inch of her tail bristling. She stared over the grounds, almost expecting the creepy crawlies to come inching their way back where she wasn't looking, but only the dancing shadows created by her flames could be made out.

Only when she was sure they were truly gone did she lurch forward toward Totodile's still form. He was nearly indiscernible, his entire body covered in the silvery weavings. She hesitated on touching him, afraid of the flames might catch his scales by accident. She looked to both of her hands, momentarily feeling at a loss.

_I made the fire come to life. I can put it out, can't I? _

She focused on it dying, concentrated on it going out by her will alone. If she had somehow made it start up seemingly out of nowhere, then she could do the same in reverse. Slowly, the flames died, one by one and her hands returned to normal, no longer aglow. The heat died as well, and the chill of the night came rushing back, although she barely noticed as she immediately tore into the webbing covering Totodile.

Knocking a bulk of it aside, she carefully lifted him up, immediately worried by his limp form and shallow breathing.

"Hey…" She called softly, pulling him closer and untangling bits of web as she did. She gave him a faint shake. "Hey, wake up. They're gone."

_Spiders, spiders, spiders, what do I know about them? Spiders are hunters, they ambush prey or lay in wait for prey to get caught in their webs and then they…oh no. _

Spider venom.

She immediately began turning the little reptile over, carefully searching with her eyes and hands before her fingertips slipped in something wet along the side of his neck. At first, she thought it to be blood, but the scent was too acrid and noxious. Then she hurriedly wiped it on her clothes, but her fingertips were tingling already.

She pressed her ear to his body, heard his faint wheeze of breath and was startled by the sudden, half-hearted squirming in her arms.

"Stupid…why didn't you run when you had a chance? They could've…gotten you too. They almost _did_."

He paused, panting hard. Lupin shook her head. "I'm fine, see? Nothing to worry about, I scared them off." she replied, trying to keep her tone light and unburdened by the heaviness her thoughts were being weighed down by. She didn't think he saw—he didn't seem to know. She pushed it to the side, focusing back on spiders.

_Spiders. Venom. Don't some spiders cause necrosis? We need to get to town, get some antivenin in him. Medical attention. We need to get help._

The swirling chaos in her head came to halt at that. She had to get to a town._ Focus on the goal of getting to town. Pack up, leave. Start now. Don't panic. Just go pack, then leave._

She pushed up to her feet, trotting back to camp, ignoring the mud that now speckled her pants and feet. He stirred in her arms again, his movements sluggish and tired.

"Where're we going?"

"We need to get back to a town."

"Closest is almost a half-day away…Catallia City, we won't make there."

She halted on the spot at those words, realizing they were true. The next town was nearly a half-day's journey away. Mr. Pokémon's home was nearly the same distance. Either way, his chances of living were dwindling, no matter which way she went.

Hope withered in her chest at the admission that even if she tried, she might lose Totodile.

_But I can't just give up. I can't just…do nothing and let him _die_. How long does this venom take before it kills? If I run, maybe I can make it._

He may annoy her, but again, she felt a rather late-blooming affection for the stubborn blue brat. He was the only one who put up with her back at the lab, even if it wasn't entirely out of good intentions or even good-hearted interest. It irked her, but she hadn't exactly been a shining example when she returned barb for barb. And even when he was scared, he tried to put up a good front, and it was something she could respect, but more importantly it was something she could _relate_ to. She was afraid of never remembering who she was, of the memories of whoever she used to know permanently erased. She was afraid of being left to wander aimlessly about without a clue as to who she used to be. She knew he was afraid of never making it out in the real world with a trainer, like he'd been bred to do. He spoke too often about leaving and traveling, and the yearning in his voice belied his dread of never going. He was too restless for the life of a lab pokémon. He deserved to travel. He deserved to do that with the trainer that chose him, whoever they may be. She didn't want to be the cause for that dream to end.

She stroked the top of his head, then gently settled him on the ground as she started bustling to break down camp. He remained where she left him, slumped and watching with half-lidded, glazed over eyes. She packed her bag, carefully arranging everything so that the egg wouldn't be crushed to one side of her pack. Trash was tossed into a wrapper, then stowed away. She hurried with breaking the tent down.

"How long?"

"How long…what?"

"How long do we have?" She snapped the poles down, folded them up and tossed them to the side as she began haphazardly throwing the tent into lumpy folds. Her ears flicked back and forth as she waited intently for an answer. When it wasn't forthcoming, she whirled, her heart thudding with dread. No—

He was still watching her. She swallowed past the thick, painful lump in her throat.

"_How long?_" She repeated firmly.

"A few hours. Spinarak poison is potent. I think I would prefer Beedrill poison, though. I'd have a little longer." He paused, then added as an afterthought, "Or maybe not. They gore out big holes in their victims. Poison doesn't get a chance to work, not when you're bleeding out too quickly for it to do its job."

She didn't like how glib and nonchalant he sounded. She didn't like that he seemed to readily accept he might not make it. It rubbed her the wrong way how…how _complacent_ he sounded with it. _That isn't right. That isn't _right_._

"Don't talk like that. We'll make it," she said, the words pouring out before she had to chance to filter them. She heard him snort indignantly.

"I don't want to die. But the reality is that I most likely will."

"Don't say that!"

"Why? It's true. Why should I delude myself into thinking I have a chance—" he winced, cutting off his retort and curled into a semi-tight ball. Lupin's hands were shaking as she bundled the tent up and tied it down with the poles. "Why do you care so much? You don't like me. I know you don't."

She hesitated in answering, still not quite ready to admit aloud that she was, in a way, coming to like the smug little Totodile. He was…_endearing_, if she was to put it nicely. Perhaps it was the quiet few days without him aiming sharp words at her and the relatively quiet hours that had given her room to think. She didn't want to stay at the lab any more than Totodile. She could relate to his want to leave.

"…you shouldn't accept dying so quickly. It's pissing me off," she said at last, breaking free of her thoughts. She heard him snort behind her as she threw on her pack after clipping the one-man tent into place. Then she attended to her socks and shoes, grimacing at the dirtied mess of her clothing, but reasoned she'd rather put up with mud between her toes than a corpse on her hands.

"For someone who isn't remotely human…you sound very human right now."

She paused in the middle of lacing her boot up. Her breath stilled in her chest at the comment. She spared a fleeting glance at the prone Totodile, before returning to her task. "Maybe I was raised by humans."

He snorted. "Who would go through the headache of raising you?"

His words, while sharp, didn't feel as prickly as they could have been. It was almost teasing. She leapt to her feet, the pack swinging unevenly, but she balanced out quickly enough and trotted over, scooping up Totodile in one swift move. He barely protested, his body limp as she cradled him against her chest.

"Do you even know where you're going?"

She remained quiet, ears twitching, her eyes flicking upwards to gaze at the moon, remembering how it had risen on the horizon and how low it was dipping now on the opposite bank. The stars themselves were easy to pinpoint as well for further reference. She turned on her heel and took off back toward the main road.

"This is the most you've said to me since the full moon," she huffed at him as she bounded over a fallen tree. She heard his breath rattle into a croaky sigh. He didn't respond, not at first. The path loomed ahead and she burst through the underbrush and back onto it. The faint glow of the moon's light was stronger in the open than it was under the forest's canopy.

"I didn't believe you," he said at last. He curled closer toward her. "When you called yourself a monster, I mean. I didn't believe you."

She felt a small twinge at his words, but said nothing. She felt him shiver in her arms.

"We'll worry about the semantics of that later. Just—" What do you say to someone who has venom creeping along inside of them? She felt her indignation rising up again and before she could filter her words, she blurted out, "What in the hell were you thinking, going after those things? What were you trying to prove?"

The forest on either side of the road was blurring past them, faster than what should have been normal, but neither of them were paying much attention to that, not really. Lupin was keeping a vague eye on the road, while Totodile was busy sucking in breath, his breath rattling with each inhalation. Pain flared in his chest, but it seared like the touch of a red-hot brand in his neck. Each breath hurt to take in and hurt worse to expel. Every pounding step Lupin took rocked through to his core, making him shudder and quake in agony. He wanted her to simply stop, but he couldn't get the words out. Instead, he clamped down on the urge to snap at her, like he would have done before, and answered her in earnest.

"I told you, I was bred to be a battler. The only downside was my breeders picking me to be sent to the professor's lab before I could be given to a trainer like the rest of my nest-mates."

"So you went picking a fight with a nest of those _things_?"

She felt like kicking herself for digging into him about this, here and now, but the words had simply slipped out before she could properly register them. There was no way of taking them back now. He didn't answer at first, his breathing wheezy and stilted. The sense of urgency renewed itself and Lupin kicked up her pace once more.

"I'm sorry."

Then it all went downhill and she nearly tripped when she tried to stop. She ended up grabbing at a passing tree trunk for support to slowly steady herself. Her limbs tingled with adrenaline, and yearned to keep going, but her muscles began clamoring for attention, a slow ache working their way into them almost as soon as she stopped. Her chest heaved from the change in pattern while her head buzzed from the rush, but she ignored all that as best she could, staring down at the shivering reptile in her arms. Alarm rose at the sensation, when she realized that the venom was more effective than she realized. _He really doesn't have that long. _

His words were another matter entirely and it struck her hard several belated seconds later. She continued to stare at the side of his head. His eyes were closed, but the one she could see peeped open to look back at her. They were glassy and his eyelid drooped. The secondary eyelid covered nearly half of his eye, but she could see the pain behind it. He dug a paw into her forearm.

"I shouldn't have wandered off, but…I was tired of you holding me back. I got reckless. I did this."

They held one another's gazes for a few moments longer before Lupin tore hers away and started down the main road again. Whatever minute grudge or slight she may have felt in the past few weeks toward Totodile, they melted away in an instant. They weren't forgotten, but she felt in that moment, that they could be forgiven. He was still young, she reasoned, and had been out to rile her up, and bit by bit, he'd succeeded.

He was quiet for longer this time around, perhaps chafed by the uncomfortable silence and her lack of answering to his apology. He wriggled in her arms, but she only adjusted her grip to hold him better. She was moving quickly, he realized, so much faster than he would have credited her for, given her short legs. But by Legendaries, she was moving _fast_. Even if the ride in her arms wasn't smooth, she was attempting to prevent from jostling him too much and he didn't have it in him to rebuff this from her. He didn't have it in him to tell her to put him in his pokéball, either. Not that he would expect her to, that was. Even if she had, he suspected he'd pass away inside without her knowing until they'd reach the closest Pokémon Center. He felt a twinge of rejection at the idea in an instant. He couldn't do that to her, but he was loathe to think what was worse: dying in his pokéball or dying in her arms.

He felt tired; he'd used all his energy fighting that horde of Spinarak. At first it had been a few, but then they just kept pouring out of the woodworks. Then he'd wasted his precious energy and time trying to escape their String Shot attacks, only to end up tangling himself further in their webbing. If there was anyone between the two of them that was stupid, it was him. By now, he was beginning to feel the crippling pain that the Spinarak venom was inflicting on him. It was worming its way into his limbs, he could feel it making every nerve ache and cry until it sang with electric jolts and fire. He wanted nothing more than to slide into a pool of cool water to relieve his body, even if he knew it really wouldn't do much. Just the thought gave him a temporary bliss to hold on to. But soon, even that wasn't enough to drive away the impending thoughts on the prevalent situation to the forefront of his mind. If a pokémon was poisoned or burned or paralyzed, and immediate help was next to impossible, it was only a matter of time before nature took its natural course. He was frightened to die, but he could only accept that he was beyond help. Holding onto false hope would leave him bitter and resentful until his last moments and he didn't want to be clouded by it. It wasn't in him, just as he knew it wasn't something he could see in his parents, his nest-mates. They all knew and understood, just as he did.

And the fact that this woman, this impossible, frustrating _oddity_ was refusing to admit what he'd already accepted, was beginning to grate on his scales the wrong way. He didn't care how fast she was; if she didn't have the speed of the Legendries or an even an Arcanine, then why bother? It was a question he couldn't answer. He hated not knowing.

He listened to the rhythmic pounding of her heart while his head pressed against her chest, the even breaths she took as she continued to sprint down the dirt road. They wove through bends and twists on the path, her stride never seeming to slow.

"I thought you wanted to be alone when you left," he finally said at last. "No pokémon. Why are you fighting the inevitable?"

_Why do you give a damn when I gave you such a hard time, ever since you came to the lab, _he wanted to add. But the question was stuck in his throat. He was surprised at his own inability to voice what he usually wouldn't have cared to say beforehand. Especially to her.

"I told you before; seeing you just giving up and rolling over to die pisses me off. I'm not gonna let you do that. So buck the fuck up and try to see a silver lining in this. I'm getting you to a center whether you like it or not!"

The words seethed past her tongue like a whip, striking him hard and fast. It left him stunned and speechless. It was then he heard her own fear tinging her voice, seeping in from between the lines. He felt another spasm of pain riddle him, this time to his core and he couldn't suck up the whimper in time. The arms around him tightened again, a reassuring squeeze, and he let himself go limp in her arms, too drained after bracing himself from the shockwave that continued to roll over him, too exhausted to argue the futility of her task. A part of him wanted to chastise her for not buying any medicines for him, something he would have gladly pointed out prior to her full moon excursion. But that change had instilled in him a primordial fear against a larger predator, and it struck him as odd that he would see her as such, and yet, it was fitting. For all his bravado, he knew that challenged her toe-to-toe would be a fool's errand. He kept his tongue this time, recognizing that chastising her now wouldn't make a difference, not out here in the middle of nowhere, far from town, far from the relative safety and secure distance of a Pokémon Center.

They were still so far away…it seemed like an impossible task to achieve.

Pain seized him again and he tried bracing himself anew, focusing on blocking out the pain. Just because he accepted he was going to die, didn't mean he was going to enjoy it or that it was going to painless. It also didn't mean he wanted to die. Poison wasn't a physical enemy he could fight against. It was a phantom that crawled within and destroyed from the inside out. If they had any antidote, he'd feel more at ease and less willing to accept something like this. He wasted no more words, too engulfed with trying to keep the pain at bay, to try and block it out and make this more bearable. He didn't know how much time had passed. Every second was an eternity as the Spinarak venom worked its way into his system, dredging its toxic tendrils in his blood, his muscles, his organs, his very bones. He was sure he must have passed out at times, before the agony reeled him back to consciousness and set fire anew to his body. He was sure those few times he had been unresponsive, however, that Lupin also had something to do with shaking him awake again.

"Almost there. Just hang on. Don't sleep, don't sleep. Stay awake," her voice suddenly cut through, faint and tinny to his ears. Every breath felt as though an Arbok was squeezing his lungs. The places where the Spinarak had bitten into his more sensitive flesh raged on, a fire in his blood that was unbearable. He was too tired to writhe and wriggle. He felt as helpless now as he did trapped under all that webbing and a terror seized his heart. He just wanted it to end, to go away and stop hurting…

"I said stay awake! We're almost there! It's _right there_, just hang on, dammit!"

He winced at the voice, eyes squeezed shut and both sets of eyelids firmly clamped over them for extra protection. Arceus above, it was _bright_, a kaleidoscope of colours that blinded him and made him cringe as the sensitivity began to intensify the longer it lingered. Why couldn't she have just gone on her way like she'd wanted the minute she stepped out of the professor's lab? She only gave half a damn because he was the professor's pokémon, after all. She only let him tag along because of the professor as well. But he would understand if things went awry, if things didn't go according to plan…right? He'd like to think so. He did only as the pokémon researcher had asked. He had escorted the werewolf, even if it wasn't a complete job.

The voice above was more distant than before, the words too garbled and indistinct to decipher. He barely felt the extra pair of hands handling him now, both with a care and firmness reminiscent of a medical provider. He was listening without attention or care to a conversation that was about as clear as having thick Mareep's wool stuffed in his ears. He was finally numb to the pain, it was finally _gone_. Or his body was just beyond feeling it any longer. Either way was fine, it was absolute bliss. Except that damned bright light was still present, piercing through even the armored lids of his eyes and he just wished it would go out.

Then he could rest easy.

**OoOoOoOoOoO**


End file.
